With no upperclassmen, Nelson County girls’ basketball is embracing its youth

To have a young team isn’t all that uncommon. Plenty of teams are fueled by their less-experienced players.

But the Nelson County girls’ basketball team has precisely zero juniors or seniors. Now that’s something you won’t see very often on a varsity roster.

“That’s just the way it worked out this year,” Chargers head coach Gus Kueber said. “But, I mean, the girls that we have right now have been really good about just putting in the work. Nothing but good things to say about them, anyway.”

Nelson County doesn’t view its youth as a disadvantage. The group has a strong sophomore and freshman class, along with three eighth-graders.

Coming off a 10-12 season, the Chargers only have brighter aspirations in their sights.

“You can look at this two different ways here. You can sit here and kind of sulk and feel bad for yourself, like, ‘Oh, we’re just a younger team,’ and make excuse after excuse. But we’re not looking to do that whatsoever,” Kueber said. “And our biggest thing is, obviously you want to win games here, but right now, all we’re focused on here is getting the girls to play hard, playing with energy and intensity and being competitive out there.”

While the team might not have “senior leaders” in the traditional sense, it does have five sophomores. As the oldest players on the roster, they’ve effectively become the team’s leaders.

Two of the sophomores, Kenley Blasey and Cara Sateren, have started since they were eighth-graders.

“I think we’re all very good leaders,” Blasey said. “And I think we know how to take that role on. And it’s a big part of being a team.”

Blasey added that the team’s young roster only pushes them to get better.

“I think it’s good for us, because we’ve got to know to step up,” she said. “And we also have those young girls that put in a lot of work, and they always know what to do. And they’ve caught on really well. And I think in future years, we’re going to be really good.”

Blasey plays a sport in every school season. She made the Class B state tournament in golf this year, and she’s been in the gym ever since, preparing for basketball season. In the spring, she’ll shift gears to softball.

“She has a very good work ethic,” said Kueber, who also coaches her in softball. “She’s the type of girl that likes to get in the gym early in the morning. She’ll stay after practice and get shots up and do whatever she possibly can. So there really is no shortcut to being a really good player. Everybody’s got to take the stairs just like anybody else here. … I think her work ethic is really what separates her and puts her in a good spot. She’s a good role model for the younger kids here as well.”

As a freshman, Blasey averaged nearly 12 points and five rebounds per game.

She opened this season with a big showing at the Lake Region Invitational in Devils Lake. Even though Nelson County only took seventh place, Blasey scored 58 points across three days. That was the second-most of any individual player in the tournament, behind only Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s Suri Gourd.

Blasey is primed for a big sophomore year.

“I think that being in the gym is a big part,” Blasey said of her success. “Being there for my teammates and my team, and listening to what my coaches have to say, even if it’s not what I want to hear sometimes.”

Blasey can drive and get to the rim, but she also showed a penchant for three-pointers in the Lake Region Invitational. She made 11 triples in the tournament.

On the last day — in a game Nelson County ended up winning by 29 — Blasey’s shooting started off cold. But that didn’t lessen Coach Kueber’s faith in her.

“Kenley has green lights on everything,” Kueber said. “You miss your first four or five three-point shots here when you’re open — and obviously, we’re always preaching taking good shots — but when you’re open, you just keep that confidence there. And you just keep letting it fly.”

Blasey ended up with 22 points that day after zero in the first quarter. The Chargers, despite having to play at 11 a.m. on a Saturday in the seventh-place game, kept the energy up on the sideline and saw their perseverance pay off.

“When your bench is lively and in it, it really makes a big difference throughout the entire game,” Kueber said.

Nelson County also got 14 points from Sateren that day. As another one of the more experienced players, Sateren is somebody Kueber hopes will step up, alongside Blasey.

“What I like to see out of those girls is just continuing to be more aggressive,” Kueber said. “It doesn’t matter what happened necessarily on the last shot or two. Just got to have that confidence when you’re open, to just keep letting it fly when you’re there, and being aggressive and just attacking the basket when you can.”

Sateren averaged 3.3 points per game last year. She had 18 steals and 17 assists.

“Cara is somebody that we can see kind of taking on a bigger role as the season’s going on here, too,” Kueber said. “And honestly, I could kind of say that for all the sophomores there, too.”

Kueber also mentioned Hailey Avdem and Aubree Christinson as potential key contributors. Both had flashes of success in the Lake Region Invitational, helping Blasey out a little bit.

“I think they know what it’s like to be a teammate,” Blasey said. “And they’re always there for me. They’re always there for everybody. And they just actually show what it’s like to work as a team.”

With their win on the last day of the tournament, the Chargers improved to 1-3. It was a small step, and they know they have a lot of work to do before they get where they want to be.

Kueber coaches the team with his wife, Savannah Kueber. In softball season, the roles are reversed, with Savannah as head coach and Gus as assistant.

Slow starts are nothing that Gus and his teams haven’t dealt with before.

“We’ve been coaching now for 12 years or so here, and it’s almost like every year you go through it,” he said. “You’re beating them the entire game for the most part, and you just kind of come up a little bit short.”

But they’re hoping to use last Saturday’s win to springboard into a successful season. For a team that has no upperclassmen, they carry an unusual level of experience. And, little by little, it’s starting to pay off.

“I think we’re getting there,” Blasey said. “We work as a team really well. We click together very well. And there’s a lot to come still. I think that we’re always there for each other, and we know what it’s like to be as a team.”

Nelson County has road games Dec. 11 and 13. Its home opener is scheduled for Dec. 18 in McVille against region opponent Midway/Minto.

“We feel like if we’re playing up to our potential and our ability, I think we’ve got a good chance to potentially win,” Kueber said. “Locking in on defense, limiting teams to one shot down there and just doing a good job on our defensive rebounds, I think that’s going to give us a chance to win. And we just can’t beat ourselves. So if we’re limiting those turnovers and taking care of those things, we’re sitting in a good position.”