Van Meter girls basketball recap: Bulldogs still young

Before the track season starts on Friday, take a look back at what the girls basketball team accomplished this season.

Coming off the program’s first losing season in over a decade last season (6-16 overall), the Bulldogs made a big leap in the latest campaign that wrapped up at 11-11 overall and a fourth place finish in the WCAC at 10-4 in league play.

That improvement wasn’t enough to make any headway in the postseason, as the team rode back home with a first round exit against Clarke, but it was sign of improvement for an unproven roster.

Proving It

Last season’s squad was largely thrown into fire and took their lumps as a team predominantly led by underclassmen, as three of the team’s top scorers (and top assist and rebound leaders as well) were all sophomores. That opened up a lane for the Bulldogs to rapidly gain experience points.

And this season saw the team collect on that upside, all while providing even more experience to carry into 2024-25.

At the top of the charts, junior Finley Netten once again led the team in scoring. She improved to 13.0 points per game, up from 11.8 points last season as she improved her efficiency from every inch on the floor. A starter since freshman year, Netten stepped further into her leadership role, helping overcome some difficult positions like a double-digit comeback in the last four minutes against ACGC.

That was one of the biggest momentum shifts of the season, all made possible by the team scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter against the Chargers. The team eclipsed 20 points in a quarter six times this season. They did that just once last season.

Netten was helped greatly by a couple of newcomers, not too dissimilar to her freshman season.

Against ACGC, sophomore Lydia Thummel worked in for 15 points after making 6-of-7 shots while freshman Macy Hyer contributed 14 points on a 5-for-7 performance. Those were some of their biggest peaks of the season, as they ranked fourth and fifth in total scoring for the season.

Another freshman made her presence felt throughout the season — Avery Banks was second on the team with 10.9 points per game. That’s the most for a Bulldog ninth-grader since Mackenzie Roberts’s 14 points per game in 2013-14. Banks and Hyer ranked first and second in among WCAC freshman scoring.

Still Young

After a year where the team lost limited minutes, it’s typical to see the following season lead to significant roster turnover. The Bulldogs are in the opposite position. They actually have more production projected to return.

On the 13-girl roster, Danielle Jones was the only senior that made more than one shot per game. The rest of the roster is eligible to return for 2024-25.

Next season will see both Netten and Teya Speltz (third in scoring) play their last minutes, but for now, Van Meter looks like it can reprint gameday rosters without much change.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Van Meter girls basketball recap: Bulldogs still young