The WACO Warriors are gearing up for a new season of girls’ basketball and looking to carry over the momentum of last year, where they went 18-5 overall for their most wins in almost 20 years and were 14-2 in conference play on their way to runner-up status in the North division of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference.

Led by head coach Lisa Graber, WACO will have to replace one of the best players in school history in Ellah Kissell, who was an all-state selection last season. In addition to leading the Super Conference North in scoring with an average of over 22 points per game, Kissell became the program’s all-time leading scorer and was one of the highest-scoring players in the state in Class 1A.

Grace Coble is also gone after averaging nearly 11 points, eight-and-a-half rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals a game. The Warriors do return forward Emma Wagler, who was tied for third on the team in scoring with over 6.5 points per contest and also averaged six rebounds last season, as well as fellow seniors Marie Farmer and Halle Sherman. WACO will begin the new girls’ basketball season November 21st when they travel to face Pekin.