Brinly Gregory/Photo by Noah Clooten
A lot has changed in a year for Lake Region State College women’s basketball.
The Royals put together back-to-back 20-12 seasons, both under the helm of head coach Ryan Clark. But with Clark getting hired by Minot State University, and the main core of last year’s team all transferring to new schools, the Royals have a much different look to them.
“We’re a smaller team. We’ve got nine on our roster this year,” said Colden Hutton, the new head coach of the Royals. “But I like our nine. We have a really good group, not only on the court, but we all hang out together off the court. And that’s a big part of it as well.”
While it’s Hutton’s first year as LRSC head coach, it’s not his first year with LRSC. He was an assistant coach for both the Royals’ men and women during the 2021-22 season. He also got a taste of experience as the interim women’s head coach that year, following the midseason departure of Danny Mertens.
“I liked being here. I liked the atmosphere. I love our community,” Hutton said. “It’s different starting from day one, being here and implementing our practice and our offense, defense, things like that. But I really enjoy it.”
Hutton spent the last two years coaching at schools in Iowa and Missouri before athletic director Jared Marshall hired him back.
“We just kind of kept that relationship going throughout the couple years that I was off doing other things,” Hutton said of him and Marshall. “But that relationship with him kind of got me the job here a little bit, and then also just building a relationship with the community as well.”
While the roster will be small this season, with only four players on the bench at a given time, it’s still a unique group with kids from all over the world. The Royals have a player hailing from as far as Uganda, and another from right here in Devils Lake.
Elizabeth Kisolo joins the team as a sophomore transfer. She grew up in Uganda, Africa, before playing her freshman season at Panola College in Carthage, Texas. Hutton said he contacted her shortly after getting the job, and started building a relationship with her and her old coach.
“A lot of people don’t know that in Uganda, they do speak a lot of English there. That’s their professional language,” Hutton said. “But it’s obviously a different feel. Texas is not North Dakota. And she’s starting to figure that out now as it’s getting cold and everything.”
Kisolo got limited playing time for Panola, appearing in 10 games and starting just one. She was effective when on the court, though, averaging 13.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per 40 minutes. She said she’s hoping that the move from the southern end of the country to the northern end will bring her an increased opportunity.
“I wanted a better space for growth,” Kisolo said. “A space where I can play and grow, and feel like I’m having a contribution towards the team. And I also want to grow my skillset. I don’t want to be the athlete who didn’t have time while in college. I want to also play. I want to have fun. So far, my experience with Coach I believe is doing the right thing with me, and I believe I’m going to have a great time here.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, LRSC also adds freshman Brinly Gregory to the team. Gregory is from Devils Lake, and was on the 2023-24 Firebirds team that ended a 37-year championship drought last winter. She’s the daughter of Jason Gregory, a former Devils Lake basketball coach and current Four Winds cross country coach, and the sister of Talan Gregory, who started a few games at quarterback for Devils Lake football this fall.
Gregory is the first Devils Lake native in three years to play for either the men’s or women’s LRSC basketball team. The most recent was Avery Swenson during the 2021-22 season, the same year Hutton took over as interim head coach. Swenson is now an assistant coach on the Devils Lake girls’ basketball team.
“I’m super excited to have her here,” Hutton said of Gregory. “Devils Lake High School has had a lot of success, especially this last year in both the men’s and the women’s side winning state. So if we could build that relationship, we could get more of those Devils Lake players here, that’s great… I can’t wait, not only to see her play, but also see the people that she brings into our crowd. And just having a local player here and having the community support that, too — that’s huge for us.”
One of the biggest rivals for Gregory and the Firebirds last year was Sydney Schwabe, a star player for Thompson High School. Thompson went undefeated in the regular season and was the consensus favorite to win the whole thing, but it ended up losing on a missed buzzer beater in the state semifinal. Back in the region tournament, Thompson beat Devils Lake by one point on a successful buzzer beater, forcing the Firebirds to play an elimination game.
Whatever competitive bad blood might have stirred between Gregory and Schwabe is in the past now. They’ll join forces on this year’s Royals as the only North Dakotan freshmen on the squad.
“She’s a really good shooter for us. That’s something that, in all honesty, might be one of the best shooters in our conference,” Hutton said of Schwabe. “Obviously, she’s gotta prove a little bit; the high school jump to the college jump is a little bit different… It’s a different level of basketball. So just getting through that part, but I think she’s gonna have a pretty big role for us.”
Sports run in the Schwabe family, too; she has two brothers, Cadyn and Calen, who played baseball for North Dakota State University. Cadyn played professionally this year in independent ball. Their dad, Jason, played professional baseball in Australia.
Hutton also expressed excitement about Jenna Tierney, who follows Hutton from his previous stop at William Woods University. She missed a lot of time during her senior year in high school due to an injury, then didn’t play much as a freshman and ended up redshirting.
But Hutton anticipates her finding a major role within this team.
“I mean, it’s kind of two years off,” Hutton said. “And now she’s really just getting thrown into it and being able to play, and kind of get that game speed going.”
The remaining addition to the team is freshman Lara Graham, who continues the Australia-to-LRSC pipeline. The five recruits are combined with four returners, all of whom received playing time last year — none of whom, however, was a starter.
Nicole Lillard had the best season among the returning players, averaging 5.9 points per game. She appeared in all 32 games and started four of them. Arden Faulkner, a Fargo native, also played in every game, seven of which she started.
Then there’s Morgan Leas, sister of LRSC men’s basketball player Mitch Leas. Both hail from Rolla, North Dakota. She appeared in 29 games last year. The returning group is rounded out by Grand Forks native Kiara Holweger, who only got a taste of action with 44 minutes over 14 games last season.
“I think we just need a big jump from them coming up,” Hutton said of the returners. “Obviously the freshman year, getting used to things, and then going now as sophomores, having that year in the league and building that.”
It’ll be an interesting, somewhat transitional year for the team, considering it’s the first year of the Hutton era and features a new-look, condensed roster. But it’s a challenge Hutton is looking forward to undertaking.
“It’s a lot of hours. Definitely a lot of hours,” Hutton said of his new job. “But it’s a lot of fun hours. My biggest thing as a head coach is building relationships, just making sure that we’re taken care of, we have the confidence on the court and things where they can play their best basketball on the court… Caring about them not only as basketball players, but also as humans.”
The Royals begin their season this weekend with the Mon-Dak Tip-Off Tournament in New Town. The first home game is Nov. 8, and the first official conference game is Jan. 5.
“Our hopes are obviously to win games, but also to just build a community feel here,” Hutton said. “And have everybody involved, and continue building on what Ryan built the last two years. Winning, recruiting North Dakota girls, Australia girls, things like that, but also just building on that. It’s gonna be a fun year for us, going to New Town and playing Bottineau right away, and seeing how it goes from there. But expect us to be super competitive.”
