The lack of seniors didn’t hurt the Cardinals in their season opener, as they were able to go on the road and defeat Delano 58-46. The Cardinals (1-0, 0-0) started three freshmen, one sophomore and one senior. Four freshmen ended up getting significant playing time, something that will be a norm for them this season.

“It’s unusual for us to have this many freshmen at the varsity level at Alexandria, but it is what it is this year with losing all of those seniors,” Kohler said. “There was a mass exodus and the Class of 2025 is a pretty tough class.”

The star of that class appears to be Hadley Thul, who led the way for the Cardinals with a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds in her first varsity start.

“I was really excited and ready to go, ready to play. I love everyone on our team and they’re so fun to play with,” Thul said.

Allie Haabala, another freshman, was the only other Cardinal to score in the double digits, as she finished with 14 points and four rebounds. Chloe Scholl and MaCee Linow round out the Class of 2025 contributors from this game, as they combined for five points, seven rebounds and an assist.

The Tigers (0-1, 0-0) went with the more traditional route of having a senior lead their team in scoring, as Kelly Peterson finished with 11 points.

While they started their season off with a loss, head coach Seth Potter saw this game as a model for how his team can play better.

“[Kohler has] got like 600-career-plus wins, the girls know her system,” Potter said. “It’s great for us to see that, to aspire to that and know that if we want to be good, that’s the kind of team we want to play like.”

As for the Cardinals, their inexperience doesn’t lower the expectations that Kohler has for them this season.

“They understand the expectations, especially when they get to this level, and they know what it takes to play at this level,” she said. “I’m pretty proud of this group and I think that they can do some good things this year.”