The Lady Kings have a year full of success ahead of them. The 2023- 24 girls basketball season has begun and this season is looking promising. The Lewis Cass Varsity Girls Basketball team consists of; seniors, Heta Kosunen, Kinsey Mennen, and Faith Helvie, juniors, Mylie Cipe, sophomores, Anna Hedrick, Aftin Griffin, Kylie Logan, Ava Hubner, and freshman, Laney Davis. Because of the switch to the TRC (Three River Conference) and our very competitive varsity team, success is within reach for the Lady Kings. The Lady Kings had their first game this past weekend against Eastern and won 71- 5.

Coach Amor said, “ This year’s goals would be to win the conference, win the Cass County Tournament, win our sectional, and have a winning season at Cass for the first time in 20 years.” When asked if this season will be more successful with the conference switch his response was, ”I think we will have more success this year but we also have a group that could be successful in the Hoosier Conference as well.” Amor was finally asked if Heta would be a key player this season, and his response was, “Yeah, Heta will definitely be a key player due to her size, athleticism, and her background knowledge of the game of basketball.” None of this is surprising knowing Heta’s homeland, Finland, won her country’s championship. Next, Kinsey Mennen was asked if she thinks this season will be the most successful from her past three, and what her goal is for her team and her response was, “Yes, I think this year will be the most successful. My goal is to have a winning season and come out conference champions and win the county tournament.”

On the guys’ side, the Kings have a year full of learning and big shoes to fill ahead of them. The Kings have a new Head Coach, Coach Eric Branz, who lost five seniors from last season to graduation. The season is just beginning, so the boys’ roles on their team are still being decided. Coach Branz was asked his expectations for his team this year, and how losing five seniors impacted his team, and his response was, “I expect us to be a different team in January compared to where we are now at the beginning of November. We have very high expectations for discipline and work ethic. Losing five seniors leaves a lot of spots to fill as we practice more and get into games, everybody should feel more comfortable with their roles on our team.” Coach Branz was also asked how it feels to step up as the varsity head coach, as well as the challenges of being a head coach, his response was, “I feel blessed to be given this opportunity after six years of being a varsity coach. It was nice to sit back and support Coach Johnson for the last four years. Being a head coach feels a lot like running a small business. There are a lot of conversations and decisions to be made that I was not responsible for previously.”

Trey Johnson was asked what his expectations were this season, and his response was, “My expectations for this season are to win as many games as we can and win another sectional.” Trey was also asked what he hopes to improve on, and he said, “I hope we improve as a team and come together as a team and have a year full of success.” Trey was also asked if he thinks he will step up as a leader as a returning starter his response was, “Yes, I hope to step up as a leader this year.” Johnson also added, “ I also think playing OG Fortnite will help me improve my ability to handle the ball and help me transfer my mentality from playing Fortnite to playing basketball.”

Overall, both teams are headed for success this 2023-24 basketball season. The Lady Kings have incredible seniors and some foreign exchange students as well as an experienced coaching staff. On the guys’ side, the Kings have a fresh start with a new head coach and underclassmen moving up and having new roles on their teams. Good luck to both boys and girls basketball teams this season. Let’s all support our boys’ and girls’ basketball teams from the sidelines.