NEW LONDON — In a battle for the Bay conference title the New London girls basketball team suffered a tough loss on Thursday night on the road against West De Pere.
But the bulldogs are still having a terrific year, finishing the regular season with an 18-4 record which earned the squad a one seed in the Division 2 playoffs
And they’re led by a senior, who has overcome a lot of adversity to help her team get to where they are now.
“She can do it all, she will take the step back shot, she will get you going and then she will drive,” Bulldogs junior forward Jensen Mix said of senior Lizzie Steingraber. “She can do anything, She’s a huge offensive threat for us.”
Steingraber is not just the leading scorer for the team (17.7ppg), but also their leader on and off the court.
“She’s the leader that every coach wants on their team,” said Bulldogs head coach Cody Clark. “She’s the first person to be picking someone up when they’re down on the bench – when she’s there, she’s the loudest. She’s not there a lot but when she is, she’s the loudest for her teammates. It’s what every coach wants.”
Rewinding to a little over a year ago to her junior year, right after the tip off against West De Pere, she would tear the ACL in her left knee while playing defense.
“It’s a humbling experience and I’m just super grateful for everything that just has come with it, because it’s easy to see the dark in that type of situation,” said Steingraber.
Despite being hurt, it never stopped her from cheering on and leading her team.
“Fresh off her surgery, she was on the court mid air in the picture, just cheering for teammates and we were like, ‘what are you doing’,” said Clark laughed.
Steingraber wasn’t going to let that injury impact her senior year.
“No one ever thinks they’re going to tear their ACL but a lot of girls, I think I just knew I had to put in more effort after that and that is just what has made this year a lot more special for me and my team,” she said.
“To look adversity in the face and say no, her recovery process was just unbelievable. You can tell she really wanted to get back on the court,” said her head coach.
Somehow, In about 10 months she was back and ready to play.
“I knew I was ready and it just felt really good to be back out there and I knew my teammates were cheering me on all the way and it just made me that much more confident on the floor,” said Steingraber.
“We all knew she would come back better than ever and she has,” said Mix. “She just gives our team energy and every time she makes (a bucket), we go crazy and we know she will always do anything she can to get us going.”
Her play on the court this year earned her a NCAA Division One scholarship to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.
“She earned everything she got and just how she’s been playing this year, she’s been phenomenal,” said Clark.
“Getting that offer was just, it meant a lot and it just really made me feel good and it was a great pick for me and awesome, exactly what I wanted,” said the senior. “It was great.”
But before her college playing career begins, she would like to take her team to the state tournament, especially after seeing the program along with her sister Gretl win back to back titles over a decade ago.
“It’s just something that I always dreamt about. Watching my sister play when that was going on, not that I’ve ever been there ever personally in my high school career, I’ve seen it, I’ve watched it and I know it’s real. We pass the gold balls every single day at our school and it’s real and it can be real.”
