Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Back row l-r. Stella Rohman, Ida Rohman, Bailey Larson, Ivy Olson, Mikaela Rosenberg, Maddie Carlson. Front row l-r. Mirta Gracia, Courtney Anderson, Emily Schettler, Emma Geldart, Addy Wohlhuter, Taylor Hughes.

SHERBURN – Emily Anderson had an everlasting impact on the Martin County West High School girls basketball program during her six years on the varsity roster. The forward has scored over 2,000 points during her tenure with the Mavericks, guiding the team to a 42-14 record over the past two seasons.

With her time now spent at the University of Wisconsin — River Falls continuing her basketball career, Martin County West head coach Cliff Anderson looks to revamp his program for yet another strong winter campaign.

Luckily, the Mavericks are set to return three starting individuals from last year’s Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Valley Division champions.

“It’s going to be hard to replace coming into this season,” Cliff Anderson said. “But hopefully we can build off the last two years with a good record and good girls on our team that can keep it going.”

Point guard Courtney Anderson and forward Maddie Carlson are set to bring back experience after starting in the Mavericks lineup the past two seasons. Carlson strung together a strong output last year, earning All-Sentinel honors after stuffing the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, two assists, and over one steal per contest.

Forward Emily Schettler is the third and final returning starter from last year’s roster, rounding off the middle of the team with her presence inside the paint. The rest of Cliff Anderson’s lineup is made up of players from last season’s team who are looking to take a bigger jump in production, such as Ivy Olson, Addie Wohlhuter, Ida Rohman, and Taylor Hughes.

“It’s really good for a coach to be able to do that,” Cliff Anderson said. “You don’t have to start from scratch and try to figure out all your drills and names. They know how I like to do things, and they are very receptive, working hard in these first few weeks of practice.”

Martin County West has always emphasized a defense-first mindset under Cliff Anderson, employing aggressive on-ball pressure across various schemes to slow opponents. Last season’s team gave up just under 45 points per contest.

On offense, the Mavericks will continue to focus on ball control and shot selection, making sure each possession creates an open opportunity at the basket before the shot clock expires.

Cliff Anderson’s main goal on this side of the court is a better scoring balance throughout his roster. With Emily Anderson leading the team in a handful of offensive statistics a year prior, Cliff Anderson wants to see a more distributed scoring output from top to bottom.

“We like to spread the court a little bit, get to the rim, and kick it for some open shots,” Cliff Anderson said. “In a 35-second [shot] clock, you don’t have time to run your offense for 30 seconds and just throw one up. …This year, for us to be successful, we are going to have to be balanced.”

The past two years under Cliff Anderson and his coaching staff have been among the most successful in the Mavericks’ program history. Martin County West has strung together consecutive campaigns of 18 wins, earning top conference finishes, and posted a 23-4 record.

Cliff Anderson hopes this recent success will continue to grow the program in the right direction, motivating the younger generation to pursue basketball throughout their athletic careers.

“It helps us understand we can be a winning program, and the next girls up want to continue that success,” Cliff Anderson said. “Hopefully, we can do that.”