Team Preview
Written by: Will Hoenike
St. Maries girls basketball coach Jay Sines is certainly happy to have sophomore post player Kelsey Auer on his squad.
Auer, a 5’11” sophomore, earned All-Central Idaho League honors last season … as a freshman. With a full season of varsity experience under her belt, Auer should help the Lumberjacks take a step forward from last season’s 12-11 season.
Four of those losses, including a season-ending defeat at the district tournament, came at the hands of Grangeville. So it is understandable why Sines and his team are excited to get another crack at the Bulldogs. The team’s first chance is at Grangeville on January 6 and then a home date against the defending CIL champions on January 17.
Sines returns three other players with a healthy dose of varsity experience: Catherine Flach (5’9”, Sr.), Alexis Cordell (5’6”, Jr.) and Kari Ghramm (5’8”, Jr.).
With Auer and Flach, Sines lists post play as one of the team’s key strengths on both ends of the court. The ability to score in close as well as rebound and defend the basket should be the strength of the Lumberjack squad this season. As long as Cordell, Ghramm and the incoming perimeter players continue their improved play in transition, St. Maries could be primed to make a move in the CIL.
The girls’ basketball program at St. Maries is overdue for a return trip to the Idaho State Basketball Tournament. The last time the girls advanced was 2002, which is the only time the program has tasted state-tournament play since the calendar flipped to the 2000s. Sines may have the pieces to end that drought – if not this season, perhaps next as Auer will only be a junior and both Cordell and Ghramm will be back for their senior seasons.
The Lumberjacks play six straight games away from their home gym from mid-December through early January. But the schedule balances out with six straight at home after that – including the matchup with rival Grangeville – before heading back out on the road to close the regular season, including the annual “Brawl for the Ball” game at Kellogg High on January 31.
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