Calvary Lutheran girls to open season with eight players

It's going to be a short bench this season for the Calvary Lutheran Lady Lions.

Calvary Lutheran will dress eight players during the girls basketball season, which begins tonight with a home game against the New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

"We had one girl in cross country and a couple in volleyball, so we were kind of short on numbers (when practice began)," said Calvary Lutheran coach Hannah Matthews, who begins her first season as head coach of the Lady Lions. "That first week was a little bit of a struggle.

"But we're getting everyone meshing together."

The Lady Lions' starting lineup will have a pair of freshmen, Maddie Homfeldt and Kaleigh Kaiser, who played together at Trinity Lutheran. Homfeldt will be a point guard and Kaiser will play forward.

Homfeldt got a late start to practice due to qualifying for state cross country.

"She's done really well so far," Matthews said. "Her ball-handling has been good, her shot has been good. She's becoming confident as a freshman."

Kaiser will be undersized at the post, but it's the position she played the most during middle school.

"She is one of the strongest players we have on the team," Matthews said. "She jumped for us at the Jamboree and did really well."

Junior Rachel Thompson and sophomore Claire Duenckel will start at the shooting guard positions.

Matthews, who previously served as the Lady Lions' assistant coach, said Thompson saw her playing time increase from her freshman to sophomore seasons, and worked hard to improve her game during the summer.

"I'm looking to her for some extra scoring," Matthews said.

Duenckel has shown improvement on the defensive end.

"Her leadership has been great so far," Matthews said.

Izzy Chilambo, a 5-foot-7 junior who played on Calvary Lutheran's Final Four volleyball team, will be the starting center this season.

"She didn't get as much playing time as she wanted last year, and she worked hard over the summer," Matthews said. " She's really improved on her post moves, her communication, her defense. All around, she's improved tremendously."

Jordyn Mays, the lone senior on the team, will come off the bench to play guard/forward for the Lady Lions.

Sophomore Chloe Baker can play point guard, but Matthews said she's also "an excellent shooter." Caydee Cooper, a freshman, will be the backup center to round out the roster.

During the Calvary Lutheran Jamboree earlier this month against Russellville and Sturgeon, Matthews said the Lady Lions held their own, but fouls and turnovers were two of their biggest concerns.

"We have not done well in the past with fouls," Matthews said. "At the scrimmage, we had a couple girls with four fouls, a couple with three, and that was with playing 18 minutes."

Calvary Lutheran will be the No. 7 seed in next week's Eugene Tournament. The Lady Lions will also host their own tournament and play in the Russellville Tournament.

"Regardless if we win or lose, I just want to see some good things," Matthews said. "Working as a team, last year we struggled with that, we got upset with a lot of little things."

Calvary Lutheran was placed in Class 2 District 8 this season. The Lady Lions will be joined by Belle, Eugene, Harrisburg, Linn, New Bloomfield, New Haven and Russellville.