Girl’s basketball brings youth & experience to court

Girl’s Head Basketball Coach Robert Reibel is confident that the team will improve this year, having multiple returning players in important roles this year.
Tatum Kelly-Quintero (LP ‘26), suffered a knee injury during the summer and has been working in rehab. Whiler her absence from the court this upcoming season will be felt, Coach Reibel is encouraged that she will be able to return next season and still make a difference from the sidelines this year.
“From all of her hard work to get better she will be able to return in the following season,” Coach Reibel said. “But while she is out, she will be an amazing mentor and leader to the younger athletes.”
The team returns last year’s leading scorer Allie Gogola (LP ‘26) for her third year of varsity basketball.
“She works on and off the court to improve and she shows it every year,” Coach Reibel said.
Gogola surpassed 750 career points and 300 career rebounds last year.
“She is a great leader on the team and will hopefully continue to be,” Coach Reibel said.
Additoinally, Coach Reibel expects two more juniors to be making an impact. Maggie Frank (LP ‘26) is also returning for her third year on varsity basketball, along with Alex Kiefer, a 3-sport athlete, in basketball, volleyball, and softball.
“Maggie has been working to become a scoring threat at all three levels while improving her strength and speed,” Coach Reibel said.
“Maggie surpassed 100 career three-pointers made last year and led us in several defensive categories.”
Kiefer played 31 basketball games last year. and was a leading rebounder for the team last year. Coach Reibel commended the energy and toughness she brings to the team.
Coach Reibel picks the starting players based off of their performance, meeting the team expectations, and the intangibles that they add.
“We play in a very strong girl’s basketball conference (DuKane). Last year 7 of the 8 teams that advanced to Regional Championship games in our Sectional were from the DuKane Conference,” Coach Reibel said.
“All four teams that advanced to the sectional semifinal were from the DuKane. We will see challenging competition all year long.”
For her part, Gogola and the team prepare for a match by studying their opponents and depicting their strengths and weaknesses and spending time working on making adjustments to their defense and perfecting everything.
Gogola believes, like many other student athletes, that your school work is just as important as your sport.
“Managing a heavy workload along with a sport can be difficult for some, but all the resources at Lake Park like tutoring, and the friendly staff help with that. I’m optimistic for the season and am excited to get back in the swing of things,” Gogola said.