It has been happy trails so far this season for Haley Froelich and the Lemmon Cowgirls basketball squad.
The 5-9 senior forward helped Lemmon capture the Little Moreau Conference Tournament title last week. Froelich tossed in 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in the opening-round win over Bison, and followed that with an 18-point, 11-rebound effort against Faith. Lemmon then defeated Timber Lake in the championship game, behind 23 points from Froelich. For her efforts, she is the American News Athlete of the Week.
The championship game with the Panthers was close, and a solid second half helped the Cowgirls to a win and a 13-0 record this year.
"We came out in the third quarter and had a bunch of transition points, so we could tell the momentum was in our favor and they were going slowly downhill," Froelich said.
Froelich has played in four LMC tournaments, with this being her third championship. Lemmon also won it during her freshman and sophomore seasons. A young, talented team is working hard to attain its goals this season, Froelich said.
"We have a really young team with a lot of talent," Froelich said. "If (someone) gets down, someone else will step up right away. We always have more weapons ready to step up."
An ACL injury last season caused Froelich to miss much of last season and she has worked on her skills plus many intangibles this season. Froelich averages 20 points per game for Lemmon, while shooting 55 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line. She also averages five rebounds, four assists and four steals per contest.
Lemmon coach Sara Gebhart said coming back strong both mentally and physically from her injury is part of what makes Froelich a great player.
"She is a great leader. She is positive with the rest of the team from the eighth-graders on up," Gebhart said. "If she is missing a few more shots than normal, she does not get down and let the rest of her game suffer nor her leadership of the team."
Along with leadership, Froelich also possesses good court vision, shooting and defensive abilities as well.
"Haley gets down the court well to take on any fast-break opportunities that may come and she also sees the court well, too," Gebhart said. "She can shoot from anywhere on the court, from the three-point line to a post move on the inside. Haley usually guards the best players from the other team because of her defensive abilities."
Froelich has started on varsity since her sophomore year and saw significant minutes as a freshman, as well. She credits former coaches with shaping her game, including her AAU coach, Donovan DeBoer, who gave her some advice to follow.
"He told me it doesn't matter how good you played one game, you still have to get better," Froelich said. "Every time I feel lazy, that motivates me to get better and go to the gym."
Personal
Family: Parents, Ed and Danita; brother Sheldon.
Favorite athlete: Notre Dame basketball player Skyler Diggins.
Favorite team: Los Angeles Lakers.
Other sports: Volleyball, cross country, track.
Toughest opponent: Taylor Trohkimoinen of Newell. "She always pushes me to get better. We're good friends, but once on the court, it's a rivalry match."
Future plans: Attend Mount Marty College, play basketball, major in exercise and wellness.
Favorite athletic memory: "Winning team title at state cross country meet as a freshman."