Hornettes Hunting Hardware Once Again

NASHVILLE - In small school basketball, more often than not, you don’t see many schools have the type of success that the Nashville Hornettes have had over the years. As a matter of fact, the program boasts a 230-75 record in the past decade. Coming off of a 34-3 season and a state championship, the Hornettes are poised for another deep postseason run and hope to repeat as champions. That is a very realistic goal for Coach Witte and his ball club as they’re already off to a scolding hot start at 4-0. None of their wins have been even remotely close, as they’ve knocked off Centralia (74-17), Sacred Heart Griffin (70-26), Wesclin (56-19) and Freeburg (55-27). The offensive firepower from the Hornettes has just simply been too overpowering for opposing defenses. This was probably no surprise to basketball fans around Washington County though as the Hornettes return nearly all of the faces from the group that hoisted the state trophy a year ago. Junior twins Summer and Samantha Brinkmann are back for more as they paced this Nashville offense a year ago. Senior Emma Behrmann is another key contributor for the Hornettes and can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Senior Belle Schmale and juniors Makayla Gajewski and Claire Stiegman are also key pieces of the Nashville offense that keep this well oiled machine running smoothly. To put all of that into perspective, the Hornettes bring back 1,982 of the team’s 2,211 points from a year ago. I would put this team up against anybody in the state. This is a team that is good enough to win a 3A title, let alone 2A. The Hornettes play a tough slate of games to try and keep things more on the competitive side, given they will blow out most 1A and 2A opponents. Coach Witte has scheduled some good ones with Principia (MO), Jackson (TN), Carbondale, Quincy Notre Dame, Marion and Washington all on the docket. With all the veteran experience and talent on this roster, expect to see the Hornettes right back at CEFCU Arena in early March. Nashville’s next matchup will be on Tuesday as they travel to Anna-Jonesboro to take on the Lady Wildcats.