The Belmond-Klemme girls basketball team endured a rebuilding season in 2025-26, closing the year 4-18 overall and 1-15 in the Top of Iowa West.
After graduating nearly 1,000 points of offense from the previous roster, the Broncos entered November asking younger players to step into expanded varsity roles.
Head Coach James Severson says the growth from the start of the season to February was evident.
“The team that we started with was still kind of trying to really figure things out in November and really kind of struggled with a little bit of that confidence piece just because they hadn’t been on the floor a ton,” says Severson. “But throughout the season, just to watch them progress and just kind of keep pointing the attention to the growth that they have made was huge for us. And then the team that we ended with at the end of the season. It was just a totally different team, totally different group of girls in terms of their confidence and their abilities. And just shout out to all of our six seniors for that and just kind of bring that piece along.”
Belmond-Klemme was led in scoring by senior Kendra Huedepohl at 10.6 points per game. Junior Nevi McMurray finished second in scoring and led the team with 6.6 rebounds per contest. Senior Kaylen Morris averaged 5.5 points per game and paced the Broncos in assists.
Severson pointed to the team’s improvement against pressure defenses as one of the clearest examples of development.
“We saw some of the best pressing teams in the Top of Iowa all season. And when we first started, it was kind of a struggle for us to break that press,” says Severson. “And by the end of the season, in our regional game, we were able to force a really good Pocahontas team that traditionally presses from opening tip to the end whistle. And we forced them out of their full court press because of how we handled it. That was just huge growth for us, how we were able to handle that pressure and make teams make a different game plan for us.”
Belmond-Klemme will graduate six seniors: Lily Pigman, Lila Swanson, Kendra Huedepohl, Macy Gobeli, Kaylen Morris and Grace Fahrmann. Despite the record, the Broncos closed the season with experience gained by a younger core that showed measurable progress by year’s end.
