The Xavier Hawks have been served more than their share of adversity. The injury bug has bitten the Hawks each of the last three years, as Xavier has had to overcome major injuries to a star player each time.
Despite that, the Hawks have made the best of tough situations, reaching the WIAA girls basketball Division 3 state championship game in each of the last two seasons. Last year, they fell 49-36 to Oostburg in the title game.
This season, the Hawks have a healthy roster and one clear goal in mind.
“I think after having the season we had last year, we definitely have big expectations, big goals we want to get to,” Xavier senior guard Brynn Krull said. “Obviously, coming off back-to-back seasons with silver balls, we all have one goal in mind for what we want to get to, but I think it’s also important we take it one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead. We don’t want to sell the season short by any means. So I think just taking it one day at a time is how we can get to where we want to get to.”
And it’s that approach coach Andy Vande Hey and his squad are taking.
“We’re really excited,” Vande Hey said. “What I’m most excited about is to have the three Krull sisters. They have never all three played together before and two of them are seniors now. Just to have all three on the court together is really, really special. The whole team feels the same way about it. I can’t wait to watch them play and see how the team kind of evolves and grows together throughout the season.
“It’s exciting. I think it was three or four years ago we had like four or five out (with injuries) for the season on the varsity. So we just want to stay healthy so they can play together and compete. If that happens with the work they put in, good things will happen. We play a lot of great teams this year, so it’s going to be a fun ride and a good test to see how we do each and every week.”
The Krulls are the heart and soul of the team. Seniors Brynn and Joy join sister Elle, a junior, in the starting lineup.
“Brynn was hurt her freshman and sophomore year and last year it was Elle, so we’ve never had all three before,” Vande Hey said. “They are healthy and, the other thing I’m super excited about is, our senior class is exceptional people.
“The leadership that they’ve shown throughout the whole offseason — asking for more open gyms, asking for more practice time, and leading our freshmen, sophomore and juniors — has been a joy to watch,” Vande Hey said. “And I can’t wait to see what they do this season and what they do beyond, because they are a very special group.”
After finishing 19-11 overall and 9-3 in the competitive Bay Conference for third place in 2024-25, the Hawks are already off to a fast start. They opened the season with a 66-51 win over perennial power Laconia on Nov. 18 and beat Fox Valley Lutheran 60-36 on Nov. 25.
“We definitely need to take the next practice, the next game, the next whatever it is, to focus on that,” Brynn Krull said. “Looking too far ahead, big picture-wise and the expectations and kind of pressure we could face, I think it’s important to just take it one practice, one lifting, one game at a time before we start looking too far ahead. I think that’s the easiest way to enjoy it too. Make sure we don’t miss out on some of the small things.”
She said she also likes the way the Hawks like to stress defense, which will go a long way in the team’s success.
“I think we’re a team that likes to run,” Brynn Krull said. “We like to get up and down. That’s kind of how our defense creates our offense with all the turnovers, getting up in the press is how we incorporate that into our offense, too. I just think we like to get up and down, we like to play fast. So I think those are the two things that kind of decide the season.”
An experienced roster will also give Xavier a lift.
“Last year we had two seniors graduate,” Brynn Krull said. “Our senior class is six this season, so it’s definitely bigger than the average team would have, but we are pretty balanced with five juniors. We have no freshmen this year. We have a lot of girls returning that have gotten minutes in the past years before.
“I think we have all sorts of different strengths. We have a lot of quick guards who can play fast. But we also have our posts, Layna (Petersen) and Braelee (Kiepert), who are both seniors as well, so we rely on them, too. I think we’re a very even team. We really don’t have a go-to girl. We all work together and that’s how we emphasize the wins that we get.”
Joy Krull said she sees the team’s biggest strength is how the team works seamlessly no matter who is in the game.
“I think a lot of it comes from teamwork,” Joy Krull said. “We work super well together on the court, off the court. We get along really well and I think that can take us a long way this season.”
“I think our strengths really rely on how close we are,” Petersen said. “We know each other really well and there’s certain people on the team where I know if they have the ball, I know which way they are going to go and we kind of bounce off each other really well. I think we can take it all the way. I know it’s a bold statement, but we’ve had two years where we were so close. I think this year we have the want and we have the method to it. I think this year we can take it all the way.”
It won’t be easy for Xavier, which moves up to Division 2 for the postseason this season due to the WIAA’s performance factor initiative.
But with the new season underway, Vande Hey said his team is ready for another challenge.
“We’re super excited the season has started,” Vande Hey said. “You can see it in the first practice and tryouts in the girls, and that’s throughout the program, the excitement is there. That’s really what we want. We’ve been trying to build that and bring that work ethic. The girls, like Layna said, I think did a really good job. It’s a game of roles and roles can change. We’re trying to figure out who we have with how those roles will change based on matchups. I think people will see a lot of different starters depending on matchups as the season progresses. We hope that everybody can stay healthy and we just really enjoy the journey.”
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Xavier girls basketball team eyes third trip to state tournament in as many seasons
Reporting by Dan Kohn, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
