1999/2000 Game Results Last Updated: December 17, 1999

December 5, 1999  

Memorial Girls

- Coach: Steve Smith, 5th year (41-45).

- 1998-99 record: 10-4 Big Rivers, 14-7 overall.

- Returning starters (3): SENIORS--Greta Fiedler, 5-10, F; Bekka Lundquist, 5-7, G. JUNIORS--Amanda Buchholz, 6-0, C.

- Other letterwinner (1): JUNIORS--Joanna Leafblad, 5-8, G.

- Newcomers (7): JUNIORS--Becca Carstensen, 5-11, F; Christine Graham, 5-5, G; Melissa Kaiser, 5-8, G; Tanya Lien, 5-8, G. SOPHOMORES--Carrie Bohlig, 5-4, G; Bekah Howard, 6-0, C; Molly Menard, 5-9, G.

- Strengths: Depth … desire … work ethic.

- Weaknesses: Sometimes too quick on offense … reserves lack varsity experience.

- Coach's comment: "I think this team will develop into a strong unit and is capable of playing some great basketball."

-- Steve Smith

Abes have solid depth

Old Abes keep Lundquist busy

By Steve Beaudry

Leader-Telegram Staff

The list of chores for Bekka Lundquist, on any given basketball game night this season, starts innocently enough:

- The 5-foot-7 senior guard serves as the focal point of Eau Claire Memorial's offensive attack and anchors the Old Abes' defense.

Obviously, no small order. But, as Memorial's most experienced and well-rounded player, it makes sense more might be expected of Lundquist than most of her teammates.

Just how much more becomes clear as the list continues:

- Guard an opponent's most dangerous scorer -- whether that player is a quick guard or a brawny forward.

- Cover for a teammate if she struggles with one-on-one defense.

- Fire up the Abes emotionally while at the same time show enough poise late in a game to soothe everyone's nerves.

- Take the last shot in a close game.

- Make all the Abes better.

Whew. Some players would get tired simply reading the list. Good thing Lundquist is a preeminent track and cross country runner too.

"Her role has sort of evolved from year to year," Memorial coach Steve Smith said of Lundquist, who is entering her fourth varsity season and second season as a starter. "When she first came up, she was our defensive stopper. We'd put her on a 1, 2, 3 or 4, and she could shut them down.

"Then we needed a scorer last year, and she filled that role without losing anything on defense. Now we need her to be a point guard -- to distribute but also to score and to be a leader."

Bring it all on, she says.

"I welcome new challenges," said Lundquist, a 4.0 student who paced the Abes' balanced offense last season with an average of 10.4 points.

The guard most likely to assume a frontline scoring role is Joanna Leafblad, a 5-8 junior who averaged 7.9 points per game last season as the Abes' first guard off the bench.

The rest of the team's guards are untested, though Smith will draw from a junior varsity team that was 17-3 last season.

"If the conference race comes down to depth, that would work in our favor," said Smith, whose team had a 14-7 record in 1998-99. "We have some talented younger players."

Junior Amanda Buchholz and senior Greta Fiedler are Memorial's most experienced forwards. Both were part-time starters last season and averaged a combined 13.8 points per game.

The 6-foot Buchholz's up-and-down season was typified in two of the Abes' three games against BRC runner-up Eau Claire North. In the Feb. 2 meeting between the teams, she scored a career-high 21 points in Memorial's 61-59 overtime win. Three weeks later, in a WIAA Division 1 regional opener, Buchholz went scoreless in the Abes' 55-35 loss to North.

"I'll expect steady play from them on the inside," Smith said of Buchholz and Fiedler. "Those two, along with (5-11 junior) Becca Carstensen, will be our leaders in the paint."