KIMBERLY (NBC 26) – The Papermakers are the team to beat in the Fox Valley Association Conference, sitting at 10-0 and undefeated in conference play.
Kimberly girls basketball head coach Dave Lepisto said the reason for their streak is their dedication to each other.
“It’s a talented group,” Lepisto said. “Some of these kids, if they went to other schools, they would be scoring 25 to 30 points a game, but we’re winning and that’s what they want. They want to have a sense of community and they really do show it.”
The Papermakers are led by four seniors, including Raegan Krueger and Kate McGinnis, who have been at the university for four years. Both are committed to playing basketball at the collegiate level.
“We have a young team, so our senior leadership will definitely come together to lead by example,” said Belmont women’s basketball commit Kate McGinnis. “We are all good players, so I feel that senior leadership will lead this team to success.”
McGinnis returns to the court after a knee injury. In her first game back, she reached 1,000 career points.
“I’m definitely grateful for the result and how great I feel,” McGinnis said. “I’m very happy to be back playing with my team.”
Raegan Krueger, who has committed to play basketball at the University of Minnesota Duluth, said Kimberly has extra motivation heading into the season after losing to Hartford in the section semifinals last year.
“This year we tried to show everyone that we are one of the best teams in the state and that we can be the best team in the state,” Krueger said. “Playing against us will be a nightmare. Every band will say, ‘OK, we’re playing with Kimberly. It’s a really good team. We have to give it our all,’ but we are also going to give it our all.”
Despite their success this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 25.2 points per game, the Papermakers still feel they have a lot left in the tank.
“I mean, we’re really just warming up,” McGinnis said. “We have a lot to improve and for us this is just the beginning.”
Kimberly’s motto is the pursuit of excellence and the Papermakers intend to continue that with some tough opponents on the schedule and postseason goals still ahead of them.
