Northwest Suburban Conference Girls Basketball: Armstrong Falcons Ready For New Season

Robbinsdale Armstrong has a strong mix of players returning and they will have plenty of early-season tests to see what they're made of.

"We return a number of girls that played significant minutes for us last year," said Falcons Coach Antiwan Easley.

All-conference senior center Kari Fossum returns to the lineup and so does senior guard Ally Gove. Easley saw Gove making good strides on the court in the final stretch of last season and he said she had a strong offseason of preparation.

Those two seniors will need to fill the shoes of four graduated seniors, two of which were all-conference honorable mentions. Last year the Falcons went 10-17 overall and 6-14 in coference play.

Fossum, Gove and company had a tough loss in their first test of the new season when Robbinsdale Cooper pounded the Falcons 63-35 on Thursday night. The Cooper Hawks have started off the season hot with a 4-game winning streak.

"It will be a tough schedule," Easley said.

The Falcons (0-1) looked to rebound Friday night against an Elk River Elks team that won 16 games last year. That game opens conference play for the Falcons, and their schedule gets no easier when they take on Osseo, No. 4 in Class AAAA, on Tuesday. Blaine, Maple Grove, Park Center and Anoka will also make for tough games for the Falcons down the road.

"Our conference is pretty strong top to bottom," Easley said.

He sees that his team will need to capitalize on their athleticism by running the floor and creating transition baskets. They do not have much height, so high-percentage shots will be key.

TEAMS TO WATCH

Osseo - The Orioles won the conference championship last season and they return a strong crew of talented players. That crew also plays some tough defense. 

Maple Grove - The Crimson took the Section 5 title from Osseo last season, but they have a bunch of new players filling in for graduated seniors.

Anoka - The Tornadoes will likely capture many more wins that last year (6) after finishing the seasion with the Section 7 tournament title.

Park Center - The Pirates won three games last year, but they return a crew of experienced players.

KEY RETURNERS

Kari Fossom (Armstrong) - All-Conference player last season.

Mikayla Bailey (Osseo)- Minnesota Golden Gophers signee.

Phillis Webb (Osseo) - averaged 15.2 points per game for the Orioles.

Kyrah Fredenburg (Anoka)- All-Conference Honorable Mention with 53 rebounds las season.

Clare Lundberg (Anoka) - All-Conference Honorable Mention.

KEY LOSSES

Stephanie Davison (Maple Grove) - Crimson scoring leader with 15.0 points per game last season.

Kassie Kaluzniak (Armstrong) - Falcons scoring leader with 9.0 points per game.

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Mikayla Bailey (Osseo) - She averages double figures in scoring and provides tough defense.