After finishing 17-9 a year ago and 8-2 in the CAC, the Glasgow Lady Yellowjackets are poised for another outstanding season as they return their entire starting lineup and virtually all of their leading scorers.

Coach Molly Monnig’s teams consistently play at a high level, and this year the Lady Jackets will tap into the competitive varsity experience gained on the hardwood a year ago after losing only two seniors to graduation with a balanced roster of upperclassmen.

“We learned some lessons last year as far as how important it is to maintain intensity throughout the entire game and not just in spurts,” Monnig said. “I think we have gotten much tougher and understand that physicality is necessary.”

Led by returning senior point guard Halle Fuemmeler, who paced the team in scoring a year ago with 21.1 points a game, Glasgow brings back a slew of depth in the starting rotation.

“Anyone who plays us, their first emphasis is defending her,” said Monnig, who added that Fuemmeler has shown considerable growth on the defensive end. “She is understanding how important it is for her to be a defensive leader. She can score pretty much however she wants. She’s a great teammate and just does everything and anything. I know she puts up numbers, but she does everything else, too.”

Fuemmeler opens the season with around 1,600 career points scored and could surpass 2,000 before districts. She will share point-guard duties with junior Karah Graves.

Forward Karsyn Massie returns for her senior season after averaging just short of a double-double as a junior, with 9.8 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. Standing at 5’11, she has the potential to reach career milestones of 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds this season. And while Monnig said those individual marks are rarely the focus, there is pride in how players help their teammates reach those goals. “We don’t put a lot of emphasis on individual stuff, but it’s kind of a team thing to get them there.”

Monnig also said Massie has become a more vocal leader this season, able to rein in the team when they begin to speed out of control. “She’s good at calming us down, getting us into our offense. She’s physical and has worked on becoming stronger in the post.”

Brooklynn Morris is another senior guard returning to the starting lineup. Monnig calls her the hardest-working player on the team. “She’s one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had. She’s a tremendous teammate. Offensive rebounds. Defensive rebounds. The communication on defense. She’s one of those kids that every team needs. She’s kind of like the glue. She’s going to light up the stat sheet, but her teammates notice when she’s not there.”

Aly Prentzler, a 5’8 forward, is back after averaging six points and 4.5 rebounds a game last year. Monnig said she is great and attacking the rim. “She’s the floor really well and has very good instincts on the defensive end.”

Defensive specialist Karah Graves, a 5’2 junior guard, scored 4.6 points a game last year and led the team in steals with 3.5 a contest.

“I kind of think of her like the heartbeat,” Monnig said. “She’s just everywhere on the floor, defensively. She just makes an impact on the game. She has tons and tons of energy. She goes after loose balls and gets things done.”

Monnig has a strong supporting cast ready to contribute off the bench. Paysen Thies, now a sophomore, turned in a strong freshman campaign with 5.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game last year. And with a season of varsity experience, she is among six players who could start on any given night.

“She gives us a different level, offensively,” Monnig explained. “She’s great at attacking the rim and sees the floor extremely well. Defensively, she and Karah are a tandem. They’re everywhere. Quick hands, quick feet. She can shoot the three.”

Senior Hailey Monnig, a returning 5’7 guard/forward, added 2.3 points and 2.5 rebounds a game off the bench. And 5’8 forward Riley Olendorff is expected to step up this year as a sophomore contributor.

The Jackets also have a couple of freshmen who are expected to see varsity time. Standing above six feet, Kameryn Kottman is the tallest player on the team and turned heads in middle school last year.

Monnig said Kenley Strodtman brings toughness and physicality to the high school team and will likely earn varsity playing time as well.

“They’ve made us better in practice, having people shoving you around and having some size,” Monnig said. “We definitely want to start sneaking them in, so I would definitely assume they’ll be out there a good chunk.”

Monnig says her team will display a balanced offense that can run and score in transition, but that can also run a patient, steady offensive set. Defensively, we want to make teams go faster. But offensively, we’re really trying to emphasize controlling the basketball and making good decisions,” she said. “Trusting our teammates has been a big emphasis this summer, and I think that’s made us a lot better, too.”

In an era when so many teams plan to run a full-court press for 32 minutes a game, Monnig says her team will press in multiple ways and be very physical in the half-court with a mix of man-to-man and zone defense.

The Lady Jackets opened the season at home against Meadville on Saturday, winning 42-33 in their season debut. On Monday, they traveled to Brunswick, winning 49-33 to move to 2-0 on the season in a final tuneup before their own tournament begins next week.

The historic tournament enters its 95th staging, with Glasgow, Fayette, New Franklin, Harrisburg, Westran, Higbee, Slater, and Marceline competing for an early-season trophy.

Glasgow pulled the fourth seed and will play fifth-seeded Marceline in the first round at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

From there, their schedule doesn’t get much easier heading into Christmas break. The Jackets travel to Westran on Dec. 11 before returning home to host Cairo on Dec. 12 and Pilot Grove on Dec. 16. The final game of the fall semester will be against Maryville at the third annual Hoops for Hope in Lawson on Dec. 22. The event is a day of high school basketball featuring female players, coaches, and officials in an effort to raise money to fight breast cancer.

The new year kicks into high gear at the Salisbury Tournament starting on Jan. 5. From there, Glasgow will focus on a demanding conference schedule, broken up by the Slater Tournament starting on Jan. 26.

“It’s a very competitive schedule,” Monnig said, adding that she thinks her team is capable of coming away with trophies from any of the three regular-season tournaments.

The Lady Jackets finished 8-2 in the CAC a year ago and have been runner-up the last two seasons. The goal is always to compete for a conference title, but with perennially strong teams such as Cairo and New Franklin in the mix, no team can take a night off.

“We would like to compete for a conference title, but we know there are a lot of teams out there battling. One bad night and it’s over.”

“This is one of my favorite groups to be around to coach,” Monnig added. “I’ve always had great kids, but these kids really play hard, play for each other, and I think they’ve kind of used that this year to set some expectations.”