Talented trio

• Jill Rising

Jill Rising
• Abby Weinreis

Abby Weinreis
• Brittney Dietz

Brittney Dietz

Talk about it

More...

• Capsules: Class B state girls basketball tournament
• Follow Beach at the Class B state tournament on Press sports reporter Justin Nutter's Twitter page
• Waldal now coaching his granddaughters
• Beach’s Dietz among 7 Miss Basketball finalists

BEACH — Nowadays in the world of sports, player tandems are nothing out of the norm.

They can be found all over at the professional level. There’s the “Williams Wall” on the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive front. The “Boston Three Party” headlines the NBA’s Boston Celtics, just as the “Miami Thrice” does with the Miami Heat. The list goes on an on.

The high school ranks, however, are a different story.

With players cycling in and out every four years, groups of top-tier athletes who remain together in a program for multiple seasons are few and far between.

For Beach girls basketball coach Bob Waldal, the stars must have aligned just right.

At the start of the 2006-07 season — Waldal’s first at Beach after a six-year absence — Brittney Dietz, Jill Rising and Abby Weinreis entered the gym as eighth-graders. The Buccaneers struggled at times, but managed a 13-10 record and an appearance in the Region 7 quarterfinals.

“The first year that a coach comes in, that’s the toughest year,” Waldal said. “You’re teaching drills and everything, and the kids are trying to get to know you. When they were eighth-graders, we would compete against good teams and not beat them.”

All were named starters the next season, and the rest is history. Three years and one state title later, the “Big Three” have cemented themselves as some of the best players in the state.

That growth over the past five seasons has led to much more than a group of talented players on a basketball court. Since first donning the blue and gold, Dietz, Rising and Weinreis have become each other’s support systems in the gym, as well as everyday life.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Weinreis said. “(Dietz and Rising) push me to work harder. We’re always here in the mornings at six to go lift weights. We do the summer camps. We’re always together. We’re the best of friends and nothing can separate us from that.”

Throughout Beach’s undefeated 2010-11 campaign, Weinreis and her fellow four-year starters have accounted for more than half of the team’s scoring and nearly a third of its rebounds en route to three all-District 13 selections. Dating back to last year’s perfect season, they’ve led their squad to 50 victories in 50 tries and a 91-7 record since their freshman year.

Beginning today, they have the opportunity to end their careers with a second consecutive state championship.

“That’s like the ultimate goal,” Rising said. “There are no words to express it. It’s like, for every person in their career, who could ask for more? To end the season with a win in the state championship, that’s what everyone wants.”

Dietz, a unanimous all-state first-team selection last season, enters this week’s state tournament as the team’s scoring leader with 16.1 points per game. She’s also played a big role in the rebounding department, where she’s averaged 6.2 boards this season. Rising leads that category with 6.3 per game.

Rising has also established herself as an offensive threat, contributing 9.2 points per game.

Weinreis’ 13.9 points per game rank second behind Dietz, but she shoots 56 percent from the field, which tops the stat sheet. No Buccaneer has been more successful from beyond the 3-point arc, either, where she has connected on 42 percent of her attempts.

Though the numbers have placed the three seniors firmly in the spotlight during their final season, all of them were quick to downplay the “Big Three” title. Rather than welcoming the extra attention, they passed the credit on to Waldal and his assistant coaches.

“Our coaches have done so much with us,” Rising said. “They’ve helped us improve by leaps and bounds. There’s no way that we could be playing with our team right now if we were still playing at the caliber that we did when we were eighth-graders.”

The praises didn’t stop with coaching staff. Dietz attributed much of the trio’s growth and success to the players they’ve shared the court during their careers.

“It’s really exciting to know that we’ve stuck together and we’re really good teammates, but there are a bunch of other ones that are really good too,” Dietz said. “It’s not just us three, but we do work hard and other teammates help us on our way.”

The “Big Three” will continue to look for help, starting with today’s first-round showdown against Kenmare (24-1), which Beach defeated on Jan. 7.

Though memories of last year’s state tournament are still fresh in the minds of her teammates, Weinreis said focus is a must if the Buccaneers want to bring home another first-place trophy.

“I just remember when we were running through the fog and how awesome it was,” Weinreis said of the starting lineups during the state championship game. “Your heart is beating so hard and you’re just ready to play. We need to just come out strong and get rid of our nerves right away. If we play cautious, it’s not going to be good, because (Kenmare) is a really good team.”

Tags: class b state tournament, beach buccaneers, sports, preps, basketball