Dec. 5—KERKHOVEN — Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg will lean on its standout guards to lead an inexperienced squad this season.The Fighting Saints hope they can emulate their 25-4 record last season following the graduation of four key players in Madelynn Luft, Emily Wagner, Emily Zurn and Savannah Petersen.And that’s going to begin with 5-foot-6 senior guard Acelynn Hacker and 5-6 junior guard Leah Wagner.”Outside of Acelynn and Leah, we have very little varsity experience so we will lean on them heavily, especially early in the season,” said KMS head coach Justin Johnson, who goes into his seventh season with a 110-76 record. Assistant coaches are Samantha Gjerde and Cassandra Thorson.Johnson continued, “We feel we have other girls ready to step up and fill roles to be a very competitive team once again. We will lean heavily on our defense to help lead to our offense.”Hacker comes back as the Fighting Saints’ top scorer. Committed to Division III Minnesota-Morris, Hacker averaged 19.1 points per game to go with 4.2 steals, 2.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. She was an All-Camden Conference pick and a second team All-Area player.”Acelynn’s very quick and anticipates so well on defense,” Johnson said. “She has a quick first step that allows her to get to the basket. She’s a very good outside shooter.”Wagner is also back after being named All-Camden last season. She averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 3.0 assists per game in 2024-25.”Very quick and shifty guard with the ability to get to the rim,” Johnson said of Wagner. “She’s improving her outside shot.”Offering KMS some size are 5-10 sophomore guard/forward Madison Silas and 6-0 freshman forward Avea Finstrom. Silas put up 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game off the bench a season ago.”(Madison’s) very athletic, can jump out of the gym and play a variety of positions for us,” Johnson said. “(Avea’s) a great shot blocker and has an improving low post game.”