VARSITY ROSTER
Ashleigh Alwes, senior
Maggie Burns, senior
Maren Forystek, senior
Allison Krohnberg, senior
Megan Oswald, senior
Emily Anderson, junior
Bobbie Burns, junior
Emily Miller, junior
Lauren Schammel, junior
Melanie Winzenburg, junior
Anna Pauly, sophomore
2021 SCHEDULE
Jan. 16 — vs Bethlehem Academy, 2:30 p.m.
Jan. 19 — vs Lyle-Pacelli, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 22 — at United South Central, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 26 — at Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 29 — vs Maple River, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 1 — at Chatfield, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 5 — at Medford, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 9 — vs NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 12 — at WEM, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 16 — vs Kenyon-Wanamingo, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 19 — at Bethlehem Academy, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 23 — vs Medford, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 26 — vs United South Central, 7:15 p.m.
March 1 — vs JWP, 7:15 p.m.
March 2 — at NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.
March 5 — vs Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.
March 8 — vs WEM, 7:15 p.m.
March 12 — at Maple River, 7:15 p.m.
KEY MATCHUPS
Jan. 26 at Hayfield — Last season the two teams met three times. The Blossoms won all three matchups, but the first two wins, 40-38 and 52-47, were much closer than the 62-33 win in a Section 1A semifinal, and overall the 5-9 record in the Gopher Conference is a bit misleading as five of those losses were by single digits. Hayfield does graduate seven seniors from last year’s team, but also may be the biggest test Blooming Prairie will face in the early part of the season. The Vikings and Awesome Blossoms will also play March 5 in Blooming Prairie.
Feb. 5 at Medford — With Medford suffering major graduation losses in the form of Kiley Nihart, Emma Kniefel and Izzy Reuvers from last season’s co-Gopher Conference champion team, the hold on its share of the conference title might be loose. Blooming Prairie may be the team best poised to snatch that place away with five seniors returning, plus talented junior guard Bobbie Burns. Last season, the teams split their two-game series. They will also meet Feb. 23 in Blooming Prairie.
Feb. 12 at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown — Two of the Blossoms losses last season were at the hands of the Section 2A and co-conference champion Buccaneers. The Bucs won the first meeting 59-51, and then held the Blossoms 38 points — their lowest point total of the season — to effectively knock Blooming Prairie out of contention for the conference championship. W-E-M will be without last season’s starting center Trista Hering, who graduated, but it returns six of its seven leading scorers from last season. Any path to the Awesome Blossoms winning a conference title likely needs to involve a victory in Waterville, or in the second-to-last game of the regular season March 8, when W-E-M will visit Blooming Prairie.