This 2023-2024 season for Girls Basketball at Cannon Falls Middle School / High School has been rough. There has been a shortage for all ages but particularly for Middle School teams such as 7th and 8th. There have been no seniors, 2 juniors going out, and the rest of the Varsity team has been made up of Sophomore, Freshman, and even a couple 8th graders. 

With the limited number of girls going out for basketball this year, Cannon Falls Athletics have had to make some changes. This season, there isn’t a 7th-grade team. All of the 7th graders who are going out for basketball this year have been pulled up due to the numbers and now make up almost all of the 8th-grade team, with the exception of four 8th graders. Those four girls are Lexi Marking, Hailey Landon, Chloe Enevold, and Alexzis Hoffman. The other 7th graders who are going out this year are Eleanor Montgomery, Blake Johnson, Lucy Nobach, Aubrey Litschke, Johanna Brott, Makenna Otterness, and Maggie Jordan. 

Yet another struggle that the team has faced this season is that all ages have had shortages, which means that teams need to “share.” For the 8th grade team, all of the 8th graders sometimes need to skip games in order to make it to the C Squad game since timing doesn’t always allow for them to make it to both. 

Although the numbers have not been on their side, these girls have made it work. So far this season, the 8th-grade team has had 4 wins. One of their wins was against Goodhue, one against Triton, another was against Rochester, while the other was against Kasson Mantorville. 

The Coach for this year’s team is Erika Schwede. When the team is feeling discouraged or sad about a loss, she often reminds the girls that even one year of experience makes a lot of difference at this age. These middle school years make a lot of difference since these are usually the ages where girls hit growth spurts, so size is almost always a problem that this team encounters. 

Since the Bombers are often outsized and outnumbered, they need to play smart yet also physical. Coach Schwede says often in group huddles, “Play smart. We don’t have room for either foul trouble or injuries.” 

Although they are showing lots of improvement, there is still lots of room for improvement. Alexzis Hoffman, one of the four 8th graders, says “I think our team needs to work on making better passes and running through our plays a little bit better”. 

Blake Johnson, a player who has been a part of the Bombers for 3 years, says “I think it’s good that we play up because we get more experience with 8th graders so next year, we’ll be better prepared.” Lots of the girls agree with this statement.

While it is a very hard feat to accomplish, this year’s girls have proven over and over again that they are up to the challenge. Although their record doesn’t necessarily show it, the girls have put up a great fight every game no matter the score. Three wins doesn’t show the amount of intensity, grit, and determination this team contributes to the Bombers.