The 2023-24 season for Madison College women's basketball will have a whole new feel when it tips off on Thursday against McHenry County College in the season opener. The game will be the first on the sidelines for first year head coach Angel Whetstone, who was hired in May 2023 as the 13th head coach in program history. The game will also mark the first for the WolfPack competing at the NJCAA Division II level after a 46-year run in Division III that included a national title in 2009-10.

The current Pack will also feature a high-number of fresh faces as the 2023-24 roster boasts two returning players and seven newcomers. Back from last year's team that finished 8-20 is all-region guard Kayla Staveness and backcourt mate Kaylee Anzalone. The duo combined to score 12.7 points per game as freshman and finished tied for the team lead in three-pointers made with 39 each, and both shot better than 32% from beyond the arc. Staveness, a native of Rio, Wisconsin, produced seven double-digit scoring games during the second half of the season last winter, and Anzalone, an Elkhorn, Wisconsin, product, was second on the team in assists at 2.4 a contest. 

"To bring back two extremely hardworking leaders is a huge plus for our program," stated Whetstone. "They have been instrumental in using their experience to help guide the younger players. Both are constantly in the gym working on their games and looking to improve upon their roles and production as freshmen. Kayla returns as a previous all-region player, a tremendous honor for her."

As for the incoming group, Whetstone will have the luxury of utilizing several multi-sport athletes who have already competed at the collegiate level. Four players are the roster were members of WolfPack teams during the Fall 2023 seasons, including women's soccer players Shayla Mendonca, Tazhia Aune, and Mirella Zielke, and women's volleyball player Addyson McHugh. 

"Two-sport athletes at the college level are a pretty rare find. We're blessed this season to have four willing to make that commitment and sacrifice of playing another season of another sport. Their understanding of how to compete and work in practice and in games will be invaluable."

Three other true freshman complete the rest of the roster, and are led by forwards Cayla Golackson and Mya Baker. Golackson, a 6'0" native of Darlington, Wisconsin, was a two-time first team all-conference player for the Redbirds, and Baker, a 5'10" former Barneveld HS athlete, was also an all-conference player for the Eagles.

"We have an amazing collection of incoming players for our team. I believe Cayla will dominate our region as a forward, and the others will provide tremendous depth and production."

The 2023-24 schedule looks a bit more different than usual with the move to Division II, as well as the loss of the North Central Community College Conference. With an emphasis now on competing within Region 4, the schedule includes 17 games against fellow Division II programs from the region. The winter slate also includes four matchups with JV teams from NCAA schools, including the home opener on November 8 against the University of Dubuque JV inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. 

Another exciting change for 2023-24 on the schedule is the addition of the Wisconsin Dells Holiday Classic, in which the WolfPack will play Bay College (MI) and Gogebic Community College (MI) at JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, on December 29-30.

As it stands right now, the WolfPack's schedule includes four games against teams ranked in the NJCAA Division II & III Preseason Polls. Prior to Thanksgiving, Madison College will host Rochester Community & Technical College for their annual pre-holiday matchup, with the Yellowjackets opening up as the #1-ranked team in Division III after winning the NJCAA DIII National Championship last season. Rock Valley College is ranked #11 in Division II, and will see the Pack on January 16 in Illinois and February 15 in Wisconsin. And February 8 will bring a home contest against in-state rival and #17 Bryant & Stratton College.

Madison College is ultimately eyeing up one of 16 sports in the Region 4 Division II Midwest District A & B Tournaments, which start on February 29 with quarterfinal matchups and conclude March 9 with a pair of championship games at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. The winners advance to the 2023 NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships in Joplin, Missouri, from March 18-23.

"Overall, I'm super excited to come into the season with a great group of players. They are always in the gym working on their game and learning how to become better students of the game."

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