By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
At first glance it would be easy to dismiss the chances of the girls’ basketball team from Rockford as they head into the 2025-26 season. After all, they did lose the 2025 Miss Basketball for the state of Michigan (Anna Wypych) to Butler University. But a closer look reveals a team that returns the other four starters from a squad that has been to the final four of Division 1 basketball for an incredible four consecutive years. That run includes a state title in 2023 for a team that has known very little but success under head coach Brad Wilson.
Leading the returners for the Rams is senior G/F Sienna Wolfe. Wolfe has been on the varsity ever since her freshman season and brings a combination of an inside/outside presence that is difficult at best to defend for the highly recruited six-foot athlete. After accruing multiple offers, Wolfe opted to cast her lot with Wofford College in South Carolina. Wofford is a division 1 school that competes in the Southern Conference.
Wolfe missed a huge chunk of last season due to a knee injury and will be joined in the starting lineup by a trio of seniors who saw considerable action as starters last year as well as in prior seasons. Kate Higgins is an imposing physical presence who exerts her will both physically and with her surprising outside shooting acumen. Higgins shot an excellent 47% from three-point range last year to lead the team and has committed to play at Northwood University. Jordan Mateer is another senior who has made her mark as not only another great outside shooter, but someone who combines that shot with great athleticism that she uses both defensively and on the boards. Mateer has committed to play for Calvin University nest year. The final senior returning starter is Audrey Muterspaugh. Muterspaugh is somewhat of a “jack of all trades” for the Rams. She is a very low volume shooter but has made plenty of big shots for the Rams. She is best known though for her defensive prowess and causes multiple issues with her tenacity.
The final starter for the Rams is the youngest of the talented Wypych sisters (Addison). The sophomore point guard is ranked as the top point guard in the state for her class and did a great job as a freshman guiding the team last year. She is yet another of the multitude of shooters gracing the Ram lineup and has also generated considerable buzz on the recruiting trail. Fellow sophomore Kendall Bires is slated to be the sixth “man” for Rockford this year after seeing valuable minutes as a freshman and showing glimpses of her game. Bires is yet another Ram who has already gotten Division 1 offers and looks to take advantage of greatly increased playing time as a sophomore. Junior Audrey Zollman has also burst onto the scene after dominating on the junior varsity last season. She will be counted on for major minutes for Rockford and is another solid two-way player for Rockford. 6’1″ senior Annika Drolema is another player for the Rams who should see drastically increased playing time for Rockdord this year to take advantage of her size and skill.
Other members of the team who will almost certainly see valuable minutes for Rockford include seniors Samantha Wollney and Alexis Madura as well as juniors Lauren Blystone and MJ Obeanuf.
“We have seven seniors on the team this year and that is somewhat unusual for us of late,” said Wilson. “We also have some younger players, but they have all seen a lot of action for us already. We want to play at a little faster pace this year to take advantage of our depth while putting a little more pressure on our opponents. Our schedule is also reflective of where we think we are as a program. Not only do we play in a very talented OK Red, but we are playing top teams from around the state in an effort to improve on a game-by-game basis.”
The Rockford schedule includes games against top schools like Grass Lake, Wayne Memorial, Muskegon, Howell, Midland, Jackson Lumen Christi and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. Every one of those teams is ranked well within the top ten of their various divisions and will present formidable challenges to the Rams. Rockford will kick off the season with a trip to Forest Hills Northern on Friday, December 12 at seven. They will immediately follow that up with a home game against Grass Lake at 1:00 P.M. the following day.
