Kruse, Snaadt, Bendlage to anchor Lady Crusaders

TRIAL BY FIRE

That’s three tough games to open the season, and it’s a trial by fire for some of these players. It can set the tone for the season, but you also can’t get too down. We’ll get a good look to see where we are as a team.”

Shawn Hopper, HTC girls head coach

FORT MADISON - Shawn Hopper knows what he has to replace in his first season as Holy Trinity’s girls basketball head coach.
Hopper was an assistant for last season’s team that went 20-3, and he knows what left with the Crusaders’ seniors. Mary Kate Bendlage and Natalie Randolph, the team’s two top scorers, combined for more than 800 points.
“That’s a lot of production to replace,” Hopper said. “So we’re going to have to find it from somewhere.”
Still, it’s not as if this is a complete rebuilding project for Hopper. Starters Teagan Snaadt and Anna Bendlage return for their senior season, and Adalyn Kruse is back in the frontcourt to build on a solid freshman season.
Snaadt led the Crusaders with 22 3-pointers last season and was a 40.2 percent shooter from the field, while also leading the team with 106 assists and 86 steals. Bendlage made 16 3-pointers. Kruse was one of four players to have more than 100 rebounds, and shot 33 percent from the field.
“Anna was more of a look-to-pass player last season, now she has to be looking for her shot more,” Hopper said. “She’s smart, she’s competitive, and she knows she’s going to be looked at to score more.
“Teagan is such a great point guard, and she has the capability of hitting shots, and so she’s going to have to do that. Adalyn, I’m looking for big things out of her with scoring and rebounding. She’s just a basketball magnet in there because of the way she gets herself into position.”
Other players with varsity experience as freshmen last season will see their roles expand. Ellie Hellman played in 14 games last season, while Elizabeth Griffin played in 12 games.
“Elizabeth and Ellie, they’re great athletes, but there will be some growing pains with them,” Hopper said. “Their roles are going to increase, and I think you’ll see them get more comfortable as the season goes on.”
Isabella Behne is the only junior on the team. Kara Lake and Brooklyn Todd are the other sophomores. Three freshmen are also on the team — Olivia Bendlage, Emma Menke and Morgan Krogmeier.
“The freshmen that we have, I haven’t put a lot on them right away, but as the season goes on, we’re going to need to get minutes from them,” Hopper said.
The season may come down to how the Crusaders defend.
“Even when we had some real offensive threats last year, we had a lot of games where it was a grind,” Hopper said. “And our defense is what carried us through. And so that's going to be our same mentality this year. Our offense might struggle, but you have to play good defense every possession, and when you do that, good things happen.
“We’ve got a lot of players who have had a lot of success. Anna, Teagan, Adalyn, Elizabeth and Olivia were starters on the volleyball team that went to the state tournament. Ellie had a great cross country season. Now we have to have that translate to this team.”
The Crusaders open Monday at home against WACO, followed by a Tuesday home game against Central Lee and a Friday home game with Danville.
“That’s three tough games to open the season, and it’s a trial by fire for some of these players,” Hopper said. “It can set the tone for the season, but you also can’t get too down. We’ll get a good look to see where we are as a team.”