Nov. 7—WORTHINGTON — While there are the typical expectations for the Minnesota West women’s basketball team to succeed, there’s a lot to learn early in the season.
The Lady Jays just began their 2025-26 campaign and they are again slated to be one of the nation’s top teams. They are ranked third in the NJCAA Division III preseason poll, coming off four-straight national tournament appearances.
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There is plenty of talent, no doubt, but much like in past seasons, there’s also plenty to figure out with the new pieces on the roster at this point in the season.
This is nothing new for 11th-year head coach Rosalie ‘Moz” Hayenga-Hostikka, whose team opened the season Nov. 2 with a 67-60 loss to Des Moines Area Community College. The early non-conference slate is a time of figuring out roles and positions on the team.
“I think that’s what this whole preseason is about, trying to get maybe everybody healthy and then kind of figure out roles and positions and some of those things,” said the coach.
The Lady Jay roster is already short-handed, mainly because of injuries, including to two most experienced players in Skyla Petersen and Aisha Ziedi.
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Both were freshmen two years ago when the Lady Jays won the national title, but both were plagued by injuries before last season started. They red-shirted that season, which made them eligible this year and would’ve given the team both leadership and needed size in the post.
“They sat out last year, Aisha had the shoulder surgery, and Skyla had the knee surgery, and so they kind of red shirted last year, I guess you’d say,” Hayenga-Hostikka said. “They both tried to come back and practice but their bodies are just, they’re shot. It’s not worth it. …That was kind of a devastating blow to lose two kids who’ve been national champions, had that kind of experience, that strength inside. We’ll be all right. We just have to adjust without them.”
Another early omission from the team is all-conference sophomore Sadie Krahling, who is headed to nationals on the Lady Jay volleyball team. The Adrian native was the team’s leading scorer last year at 16.9 points per game.
Another sophomore currently out with a knee injury is 6-foot center Elly Moret and her return status is currently unknown, but she could be a key rebounding presence in the post.
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The Lady Jays could be lacking in size at least early in the season as freshman forward Katelyn Frodermann, another Adrian native, is out with a wrist injury. Hayenga-Hostikka said she could be back in a couple of weeks.
But still there to fill those roles are three other sophomores back from last year. One of which is 6-foot forward Katrina Schutz. She averaged a double-double last year of 13.5 points and 10 rebounds and paced her team in field goal percentage (45.5).
Another returner is point guard Maddie Kamm and her 4.8 assists per game, tied for 10th in the nation last year. She also added eight points and 6.5 rebounds. Forward Jayda Hellewell is also back as she gave the Jays solid minutes last year, but could see an increase in production this year, especially early with a shorthanded roster.
Despite being more shorthanded than expected, there are plenty of exciting newcomers to watch this year.
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Giving the Lady Jays the biggest spark in the season opener last week was freshman guard Payton Reimers from Lakefield. She scored a game-leading 19 points and helped the Jays crawl back into the game after trailing by 24 in the first half.
A transfer from Bethany Lutheran, Riemers brings shooting to the team, going 3-of-6 from behind the arc in her Lady Jay debut. Another talented, high-volume shooter new to the team is Izzy Klumper from Westbrook.
The 5-7 guard was one of the best players in the area at Westbrook-Walnut Grove High School and transfers in from Augustana University in Sioux Falls. She made three first half 3-pointers to help spark the Jays against DMACC last week.
“Payton and Izzy can shoot with the best of them,” Hayenga-Hostikka said. “Both of them are coming off some knee injuries. Both of them are coming off a year where they sat out for an entire year and didn’t play basketball and so I think over time, they’re going to get more comfortable.”
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Klumper’s former high school teammate, 5-9 forward Riley Parker, is another contributing newcomer with two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes last week.
Hendricks native Ayla Texley is another guard with solid shooting ability, who Hayenga-Hostikka said is slowly working her way back with some shin issues. She did play four minutes last week and made a 3-pointer. Center Anistasia Smith from Wabasso played 17 minutes in that game as another size asset for the team.
It will take some time for the Hayenga-Hostiika to figure out what she has on her roster, but the talent and potential is definitely there. Luckily, the Lady Jays have time to figure it out with a non-conference slate that lasts until January.
Their first Minnesota College Athletic Conference South Division matchup is Wednesday, Jan. 7 against M State Fergus Falls at home.
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But until then, 16 more non-conference games await against some tough competition. Up next is Dordt University JV Friday and then Northwestern JV Saturday, both games at home.
The Lady Jays are coming off a fourth-place finish at nationals last year after back-to-back losses to end the tournament. The way last year ended serves as motivation for the sophomores, who are stepping up as leaders on a team known for winning at a high level.
“I think we have high expectations with the sophomores that are returning,” Hayenga-Hostikka said. “We have got a pretty tough non-conference schedule, so that will tell us a lot. We may not have a great record, but we’ve been there before. We’re really testing ourselves with our preseason, and I think eventually it pays off when we play such hard teams. I think we hope we’re going to be there at the end of the year. In the back of our minds, that’s our goal; we just have a long way to go.”
