What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
The Mosinee Indians girls basketball team didn’t start their season looking like conference champions. After stumbling to a 5-4 record, most folks around Marathon County figured it’d be another rebuilding year.
But something clicked.
Under second-year head coach Josh Hau, the Indians rattled off 15 straight wins to close the regular season, claimed their first Great Northern Conference title since 2021, and earned a #3 seed in Division 3. Now they’re chasing something bigger — the school’s first state championship since 2000.
The turnaround wasn’t about flashy offense or one superstar. It was about locking down on defense.
During that 15-game win streak, Mosinee held opponents to just 37 points per game. They suffocated teams like Rhinelander (75-32), Tomahawk (64-17), and Northland Pines (75-36) with relentless pressure.
Sophomore guard Paetyn Jirschele summed up the team’s philosophy: “Hold teams to under 50 and we’re good.”
Coach Hau credits a mid-season defensive adjustment. “We kinda changed what we did defensively and the girls have bought into it,” he explained. “The way we pressure the ball and the way we help and recover to stuff, it’s really hard to score on us.”
That buy-in separated this team from past years. When the pressure ramped up in conference play, the Indians didn’t fold — they flourished.
You don’t go undefeated in conference play without players who embrace the moment.
Junior guard Addyson Henrich saw the potential from day one. “I knew from the start we could do this, and just doing it and having that satisfaction and proud moment feels really nice,” she said.
“It’s not just a basketball team, we’re all best friends, so it would mean a lot. Just take it one game at a time and see what happens.” — Paetyn Jirschele
That chemistry shows on the court. No one player dominates the stat sheet. Instead, the Indians win through balanced scoring and outworking opponents — the kind of scrappy, team-first basketball that makes Northwoods fans proud.
Jirschele, just a sophomore, has already become a vocal leader. “We’ve improved a lot since the beginning,” she noted. “I think as a team we all came together, worked hard and we’re playing good basketball.”
Coach Hau has been around basketball long enough to know when a team has something special.
“This team is different,” he said. “They play extremely hard, they play for one another, nobody on the court gets upset when they don’t score a bunch. We win games by being balanced, we win games by outworking teams. We’re really fun to watch.”
That unselfishness creates problems for opponents. Can’t focus on stopping one player when five can hurt you.
It also builds the kind of trust that matters in playoff basketball, when one possession can end a season. These girls aren’t just teammates — they’re friends who’ve spent snowy Northwoods winters together, who know each other’s moves before they happen.
Mosinee hasn’t cut down nets at the Resch Center in Green Bay since 2000. That’s 25 years of waiting.
For players like Henrich and Jirschele, reaching the state tournament would mean everything. “It would be a dream come true to play in Green Bay with [my] best friends,” Jirschele said.
The path won’t be easy. Division 3 is loaded with talent, and playoff basketball in Wisconsin is unforgiving. But this Indians squad has already proven they can handle adversity.
Key factors working in Mosinee’s favor:
Coach Hau keeps his team focused on the next game, not the final destination. “It’s nice to kind of get back to that point,” he said of the GNC title, “but we’re definitely looking for more this year.”
The Indians open their playoff run at home against Altoona on Friday at 7:00 pm.
Expect the Mosinee High School gym to be packed. In small Northwoods communities, playoff basketball isn’t just entertainment — it’s a midwinter celebration that brings everyone together.
Parents, students, and folks who haven’t set foot in the gym since their own playing days will fill the bleachers. The pep band will be loud. The energy will be electric.
And somewhere in that noise, a team of best friends will take the court with one goal: keep playing until there are no games left to win.
After 25 years, maybe this is finally the year Mosinee brings home another state championship. If defense, chemistry, and heart are the recipe, the Indians have all the ingredients.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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