Hauser’s Norah Berkenstock drives against Columbus Christian’s Emma Rice Nov. 28, 2023, at Hauser High School.
The Republic file photo
Kyle Shipp’s goal for the Hauser girls basketball team was to make progress during the June period in which teams are permitted to practice and play games.
Shipp felt the Jets were able to do that.
“I really thought program-wise, we got better,” Shipp said. “We played a full JV and varsity summer schedule, and I’m really pleased how we progressed in our June preparation for the season.”
Hauser played about 20 games in June. The Jets worked out twice a week with practice and skill/development, while hosting scrimmages on Tuesdays and a league on Thursdays.
During the last week in June, Hauser participated in a team camp at Indiana Wesleyan.
The Jets, who went 6-18 last winter, are moving down from Class 2A to Class A and will host a Class A sectional next winter.
“Going into the new sectional, one thing we wanted to do was to see some of the people we weren’t able to see last summer, and we were able to do that,” Shipp said.
Hauser’s Braelyn Williams shoots a 3-pointer against Milan Nov. 9, 2023, at Hauser High School.
The Republic file photo
Hauser returns four starters, led by incoming senior Norah Berkenstock. Incoming junior Braelyn Williams and incoming sophomores Kennedy Konradi and Abby Manley also were starters the second half of the season.
“Our incoming sophomores, a lot of them got varsity action last year,” Shipp said. “We feel pretty comfortable about our roster. Anytime you’re playing freshmen and sophomores, you’re going to have some growing pains, but everybody should have an expectation of where the program is going.”
Incoming seniors Willa Wetzel and Haven Hartwell saw plenty of action last winter, as did incoming junior Chloie Phelps and incoming sophomore June Berkenstock. They were joined this summer by incoming sophomore Aleigha Wickliffe.
“Coming out of the summer, we feel really good about our 10th through 12th graders helping out our varsity and JV, with our ninth-grade class coming in had a really good summer and will help us at the JV level,” Shipp said. “They’ll continue to progress and get better and help us in the future. We have some pretty decent battles going on for some playing time.”
