The Royals don't do anything flashy or have any tricks up their sleeves when they hit the court night after night. They are patient on offense, play a smothering defense and, above all, aim to improve every day, whether it's during practice or a game.
"Last year and this year as well, we talk about just getting better and we don't look past a team or a practice," Assumption coach Joe Birkhauser said. "Every time we step on the court in a game or practice, it's a teaching opportunity, and the girls have bought into that."
Last year, the Royals were ranked No. 1 in Division 4 by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association for several weeks during the second half of the season. They reached the sectional final, falling to Potosi 37-34 to finish 23-1.
The Royals have picked up where they left off with that top billing, and currently are undefeated at 11-0 overall.
The No. 1 ranking, although nice, is not what the girls are focusing on.
"It's an honor, but we don't really read much into it," senior Anna Kinzel said. "We try to show that we're a good team on the court, not in rankings."
Added senior
Hannah Osowski, "Ultimately, you have to win
basketball
so it's a nice compliment to what we do on the court, but we just want to win basketball games."
Since the 2006-07 season, the Royals have done plenty of winning, going 70-9, including this season's 11 wins. They have won the last two Marawood Conference South Division titles and are poised to make it three straight.
The Royals haven't just been winning, they have been dominant, outscoring their opponents 544-318. Assumption is averaging 49 points a game while giving up just 28.
"The kids won't fray away from what we want to do as a program," Birkhauser said. "Everyone makes our program work, not any one coach or individual.
"So, even when some of our games are in hand, our younger players are in there learning and working to improve so we will continue to have success."
The Royals' closest game this season was an eight-point win over defending Division 3 champion Amherst. Assumption has already dispatched the No. 3 team in the state, Wausau Newman, by 11 points.
The success the Royals have had isn't completely unexpected to Birkhauser or the players, as six players returned from last year's sectional championship team.
"We lost two very good starters, and our biggest
concern was a
point
This group also has been playing together since fifth grade, so they know what they are going to do on the court before they do it.
"We know each other so well, but we still need to get better at communicating on the court," Kinzel said.
The driving force for the seniors is the sting of getting so close to their ultimate goal last year, but not reaching it.
"The experience last year has made us work that much harder to reach our goal of going to state," Osowski said. "We need to keep working hard to keep rolling, but we know we still have to improve and step up our game to get the next level."