All good things must come to an end I guess, but I bet the drought won't last long! Last year was the first time in six years the Big 7 didn't have a girls team represented in the state championship game. In fact, despite six of the league's eight teams finishing with 10 wins or more, no team qualified for the Big Dance as Silver Lake knocked everyone out of the local 3A Sub State.

For Nemaha Central, it was the fifth consecutive year they won at least a share of the League championship and last year shared it with Hiawatha, who also went 11-3 in the Big 7 and claimed hardware in the best season since 1979.

For the second year in a row, there is only one new girls coach in the league as Craig Burnes replaces Tim Stillman at Riverside. There is also very unanimous dominate favorite to win the league and that is Nemaha Central. But teams 2-8 should have some great battles!

For NEMAHA CENTRAL, all they do is win. Heck, the JV went 19-0 last year and combine a sophomore class with two of the best players in the state in Addy Holthaus and Ella Larkin, and good luck trying to quiet the Thunder. They have athletic size, they have depth and they have Coach Hadden Hiltgen who has posted 222 wins in his 12 years in Seneca. (22 divided by 12 equals 18.5) Plus the team is hungry after an overtime loss in the sub-state finals ended their campaign prematurely

The big question is who is the second or third best teams in the League this year? We like ROYAL VALLEY who also has a pair of Big 7 returners in Kennedy Bryan and Alysa Ladson, who are joined by two other starters from a year ago. Granted, the Lady Panthers only finished with three wins in the league last year, but they were the best rebounding team, JV went 13-6, and they have multiple scoring weapons plus some size for polarizing Coach David Boucher.

SABETHA is also coming off a sub .500 season, ironically for the first time in 14 years. Tradition means something and Coach Nate Bauman is back along with three starters from last years squad. The Jays are aggressive, but lack size and consistent and proven scoring options outside Mary Lukert.

A sleeper pick to climb to second in the Big 7 might be the HOLTON Wildcats who won 14 games last year including 9 in the League to place fourth. And, they only lost two seniors. Yet, overall numbers in the program are low and finding a point guard and team chemistry will be keys. Lindsay Wisdom returns after earning top honors posting over 11 points and 5 rebounds per game and is above a 72 percent free throw shooter, which might help explain how Coach Kurt Haussler's Wildcats went 9-2 in games decided by six points or less.

One of the teams that suffered the biggest graduation loss in the League is JEFF WEST. Coach John Malloy has won 129 games in 9 years at Meriden and taken three teams to state. Yet, he has only two starters back and no seniors on the roster for this 2022-23 campaign.

The other team that suffered the biggest setback to graduation is HIAWATHA who lost four senior starters from their best team since 1979 that went 18-4. They have a great leader returning in Darcy Lierz who is one of the best in the Big 7. However, Coach Brady Jasper is counting on multiple freshman having to play varsity minutes in his ninth season with the Hawks.

RIVERSIDE has been getting better and more competitive the last few years and won four league games last winter. They return a pair of talented juniors in Halle Studer, and maybe the only Division I talent in the Big 7 with Taylor Weishaar, who has averaged double-doubles her first two high school campaigns. Depth and supporting cast is again the question here as well as a new head coach with Craig Burnes taking over the Cyclones.

It was PERRY LECOMPTON that has the only new coach last year and Joey Franzitta returns after a three-win season that did not include any wins in the big 7. The Kaws struggles are on offense, but they do return a trio of starters including leader, Taylor Damme (junior).