After a 2024-25 season where junior athletes dominated the Three Lakes-Phelps girls varsity basketball team, the team this year carries 10 seniors on the roster to lead the Jays into a new season.
Along with the 10 seniors, there are eight returning letterwinners from a squad that finished 10-14 overall and 2-6 in the Northern Lakes Conference. The team ended the season with a loss in the regional semifinals against Pacelli last postseason.
Returning letterwinners for the 2025-26 season include seniors Kailyn Fogerty, Haylee Barnekow, Kylee Wilson, Kassidy Williams, Libby Eppler, Paige Brafford, Kaylee Cornelius and sophomore Malia Szews.
The Jays also have Michele Brown as the new head coach. Brown isn’t a stranger to the Three Lakes program, as she has coached the varsity team in previous years while also mixing in other levels.
“This is not my first year. I started in 2012-13, and I was here eight years, I think. Then I took a year off, came back and did two other years, two years off, and now I’m back,” Brown said at an early-season practice.
She is excited to come back to coach with the makeup of this year’s team. Brown highlighted the senior and sophomore classes on the team, as the Jays will begin the season with just one junior on the roster.
“It’s very exciting. The potential between our seniors and our sophomore class it’s incredible. We have one junior, she’s new,” explained Brown. The depth we have is amazing. That’s going to be one of the big pluses we have over maybe other teams in the conference.”
Five of the top scorers from last season are a part of either the senior or sophomore class, with Barnekow bringing back 11 points per game. She was a first-team All-NLC selection for the 2024-25 season. Fogerty, Brafford, Szews and Eppler followed by averaging around six points per contest.
Three Lakes-Phelps also returns a strong rebounding presence, as Brafford and Szews each averaged over six boards per game last season. Brafford and Szews were awarded second-team and honorable mention selections, respectively, last year.
Brown hopes to capitalize on the returning talent and pressure opposing teams with their quickness at the guard position and the height they have down in the post.
Brafford is listed as the tallest returning player at 6’2”.
“I’m hoping it’s a combination because for a change, we have height and we have quickness,” she stated. “I’m hoping both of those are going to be the good things on our team.”
Three Lakes-Phelps opens the regular season at home this Thursday, Nov. 20, against Mellen at 6 p.m. The Jays will then look ahead to a matchup with Northland Pines in Eagle River Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 6:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader.
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