Ketterhagen sisters lead Oostburg into postseason
OOSTBURG, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Oostburg junior twin sisters, Ady, older by four minutes, and Riley Ketterhagen, have been the top two scorers for the Lady Dutch since they were freshman. This year, the third youngest Ketterhagen, Kinsley, has joined the fun for her freshman season.
"I've played with my sisters since I was little, but now being in high school every game means more," said Kinsley.
"She's done nothing but help our team, " said Ady. "And it's just one more person I can trash talk on the court."
All three girls start for Oostburg and the one calling the shots as the team's head coach is their dad, Isaiah.
"It's really kinda come from the groundwork all the way up and now that they're here, it's all kinds of emotions," said Isaiah, who's coached the girls since they were little.
Ady, Riley, and Kinsley are three of Isaiah and his wife's four daughters, the youngest, Tia, is in the fifth grade. This is the first time he's had three of his daughters on the high school team.
"I love coaching them," said. Isaiah. "They're a ton of fun. They are three of the hardest workers I've had," said Isaiah.
"At practice, it can get a little heated between us but that comes with it. It comes with its challenges, it comes with its ups and downs, but I think through it all I think we're lucky to play with each other," said Kinsley.
"It's really special, not a lot of people can say they had their dad as a coach or had a sibling to play with alongside. There are moments that we have to remember, he's coach not dad, they're teammates and not sisters at that time," said Riley. "But it comes with a lot of special memories…super grateful to have them by my side."
The Ketterhagen sisters are the top three scorers on the Lady Dutch. Ady and Kinsley both average more than 20 points a game and Riley is third on the team in scoring. Ady became the school's all-time leading scorer with now more than 1,500 points, the previous mark was 1,347. She and Riley wanted to play together at the next level and already have their college picked following Wisconsin native Kayla Karius to UW-Green Bay.
When she (Coach Karius) came to Green Bay," said Riley. "It was like a no brainer. It just felt like home for us."
Only a freshman, Kinsley is already getting offers from Marquette, Wisconsin, UW-Green Bay, and Iowa State. She's in no rush to pick a school and will take the process day by day.
"I definitely look up to them (Ady and Riley), so seeing them choose a college, seeing what they look for in a college, I think that inspires me to do that as well," said Kinsley.
Family is of course important for the Ketterhagens, but also the team. Isaiah lost his father Michael to cancer in late November and the players started wearing ribbons in his honor.
"Obviously me, Ady and Riley, we went through a tough time with that, and the team had our back the entire time," said Kinsley.
The girls say it's just an example of the type of team they have.
We've kinda just built that bond, " said Ady. "There's not groups over here or groups over there. We're all one group. I think it's just really special.
"This is by far the most close-knit team we've had," said Isaiah. "These girls are fantastic young women."
This squad hopes that tight knit chemistry can help them be the first Oostburg team to make state since 2012 and bring home the school's fourth title and first since 2008.
"It's been a goal for a while," said Isaiah. "We've switched our goal to 'let's get to the Resch', instead of that, it's been 'let's go get it. Let's bring home a gold ball.'"
"We're going to do it for the seniors. We're going to do it for us. We're ready," said Riley.
After a playoff opening win against Kewaskum, 83-29, Oostburg will host Regional Finals action against Sheboygan Falls on Saturday, March 1, at 7:00 p.m.