Players to Watch:
Tia Johnson, Alturas Prep
Amberleigh Peoples, Alturas Prep
Brynn Andersen, Butte County
Paige Williams, Butte County
Karlie Christensen, Grace
Kallie Stoddard, Grace
Written by: Brandon Baney
The Grace Grizzlies finished the 2023-24 season at the top of the mountain in girls 1A Division 1 (now called 2A) basketball. A 22-3 season culminated with 47-40 victory over Lapwai in the state title game.
But five impactful seniors (Lydia Andersen, Jacie Christensen, Melodie Straatman, Sydnee Smith and Tayler Yost) graduated, leaving coach Kyle Christensen with a lot of minutes to try and replace this year.
But Grace is the type of program that reloads instead of rebuilds. Several varsity contributors are back for the Grizzlies this season. 5-foot-4 senior Karlie Christensen will serve as Grace’s point guard, and she’ll be joined by junior Kallie Stoddard in the backcourt. 5-foot-8 junior Tessica Jorgensen and 5-foot-9 senior Lilly Gilbert bring good size to the forward positions. The real key to Grace’s success this year will be the integration of 6-foot-1 senior center Evie Olenslager, who moved to Grace from Burns, Wyoming.
Nipping at Grace’s heels is arch-nemesis Butte County. Mindy Gamett, who served as Butte County’s boys basketball coach the past four seasons, has made the switch to the girls program, and is still evaluating which players will fit into which roles.
It’s a problem of luxury, as nine different players could lead the team in scoring on any given night. “Our nine varsity players will likely all have an impact,” says Gamett. “In fact, I’m hesitant to even say who will be impactful, as it literally could be any of the nine on a given night.”
The top four players in terms of varsity experience are junior guard Hazel Gamett, junior forward Brynn Andersen, and junior posts Paige Williams and Abbie Knight. Andersen and Williams earned All-Conference accolades a season ago. “These four had the most varsity experience last year, but I wouldn’t say that they are overly experienced,” says Gamett.
If the top four are still somewhat new, the next five players can only be described as “green.” Sophomore guards Autumn Gamett and Madilyn Gamett, junior forward Saige Wanstrom, and sophomore posts Cambree Lyon and Addison Pancheri will all audition for more playing time as the season progresses.
While this group may be somewhat new to varsity basketball, there’s no denying that it’s a group of winners. “This year’s team comes off of a state volleyball championship earlier this fall for many of our athletes,” says Gamett. “Many of them prefer volleyball, but they enjoy basketball too. They are a group that loves to win and loves each other. I am very excited about how well they work together and the focus they have at practice to get better.”
She adds, “We are inexperienced and will need to figure out what combinations and sets work best for our team. I imagine we will take some time to fine tune all the details, as this group hasn’t played together in a long time. We are raw, but the potential to be great is there.”
The third member of the High Desert Conference is Alturas Prep. The Pumas competed in varsity basketball for the first time last year, and are still a relative unknown. Second-year coach Michelle Ward does return two All-Conference players in junior guard Amberleigh Peoples and junior center Tia Johnson, who stands 6-feet tall. Juniors Whitney Wagner and Emma Weatherston will also be important players for Alturas Prep this season.