Summer work should help Lady Bulldogs improve this season

The Linn Bulldogs graduated three senior players (Haley Dittmer, Elizabeth Bott and Kaylee Oehmke) last year, who had a lot of varsity experience from the past few years. But Coach Trevor Kuhlman, in his second year at the helm of the program, used a rotation that gave several underclassmen playing time, which should benefit the program this year.

“We have a lot of returning varsity experience,” said Kuhlman. “This group has really bought in over the summer and is hungry to be successful. Our league will really challenge us every night and push us to reach our potential.”

Returning starters include guard Kyrah Peters, a junior who was a second team all-league pick last year and averaged 9.2 points per game to lead the team. She also led the team with 3.1 steals per game. Senior Faith Beikman is a 6-0 center who led the team with 6.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.

Other returning guards with varsity experience include sophomore Sophia Bott, who averaged 5.8 points per game; Maggie Hansen and Lindsay Mueller, both juniors; and Megan Beier, a sophomore.

“We have a nice group of guards who progressed over the summer,” said Kuhlman. “Our guard play starts with Kyrah Peters and Sophia Bott, but we saw good things from Maggie Hansen last year as the year progressed and she became more comfortable at the varsity level. We also look forward to seeing the growth of Megan Beier, Lindsay Mueller and Kaily Weiche.”

Joining Faith Beikman down low are junior forward Kendra Damman and 6-0 sophomore center Ella Thalmann.

“We are excited about this group and look for them to really step up this year,” said Kuhlman. “Faith Beikman is a four-year starter and she had a strong summer in the weight room as well as the gym. We have some younger girls that we are looking forward to seeing the progress they’ve made. Ella Thalmann and Kendra Damman are both players who saw significant varsity time. We also have Claire Beikman and Lesly Ruacho who played some solid varsity minutes last season.”

Overall, Kuhlman said the experience across his roster helps make practices competitive each day. This will help the team work to improve on last year’s overall record of 7-14, and a league record of 3-9.

There are 16 girls on this year’s roster.