Hermantown will begin the 2026-27 girls basketball season needing to replace seven seniors from an 18-win team.
Seniors-to-be Vienna Kolenda, Bryden Giesen, Payton Holt, Kenzie Zagelmeyer and Sophie Schulz lead the group eligible to return from a team that finished 18-10 and reached the Class 3A, Section 7 semifinals. Audra Schott, a junior, is another player to watch.
The graduating class included Brooke Wiese, Avea Harriman, Danika Bolf, Alexis Chandler, Bailey Hermanson, Aurora Decker and Claire Niksich. Their departures create opportunities for returning players to assume greater responsibilities, beginning with the Dec. 3 opener at Bemidji.
Hermantown’s previous season ended with a 46-42 home loss to Cloquet in the section semifinals Feb. 28. The second-seeded Hawks had defeated seventh-seeded Grand Rapids 80-54 in the quarterfinals before third-seeded Cloquet stopped their six-game winning streak.
That closing stretch included four consecutive road victories. Hermantown beat Chisago Lakes 68-63 and Hibbing 76-71 on consecutive nights, then won 61-54 at Duluth East and 57-50 at Esko. Home victories over North Woods and Grand Rapids followed before the semifinal loss.
The Hawks swept their two meetings with Esko, Duluth East and Hibbing and won all three games against Grand Rapids. They also earned a 55-53 victory at Anoka and defeated Thief River Falls 70-55, results that helped offset decisive losses to Proctor, Rock Ridge, Mountain Iron-Buhl, East Grand Forks and Duluth Marshall.
This season’s opening stretch will test the reconfigured roster immediately. After visiting Bemidji at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 3, Hermantown travels to Esko on Dec. 11, St. Paul Como Park on Dec. 17 and Grand Rapids on Dec. 18.
The Hawks then play in the Wood City Classic at Cloquet Middle School, facing Cloquet at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 29 and Cromwell-Wright at 1 p.m. Dec. 30. The Cloquet matchup will be their first scheduled meeting since the playoff loss, following a season in which Hermantown won the holiday tournament matchup 67-63 but lost both subsequent games against the Lumberjacks.
January begins with trips to Duluth Denfeld on Jan. 5 and North Woods on Jan. 7. Hermantown then visits East Grand Forks on Jan. 15 and Thief River Falls on Jan. 16 before traveling to Rock Ridge on Jan. 19.
The Jan. 21 home game against Proctor brings another difficult matchup. The Rails defeated Hermantown 74-35 and 79-39 last season, making the meeting an early opportunity for the Hawks to measure their progress against an opponent that controlled both previous games.
After visiting Duluth East on Jan. 23, Hermantown begins a four-game homestand against Hibbing on Jan. 26, Superior on Jan. 28, Cloquet on Jan. 29 and Duluth East on Feb. 2. That stretch includes consecutive games against Superior and Cloquet and a second meeting with Duluth East in 11 days.
The Hawks travel to Mesabi East on Feb. 4 and Superior on Feb. 5, then host Duluth Marshall on Feb. 9 and Grand Rapids on Feb. 11. A Feb. 16 trip to Hibbing is their final listed road game.
Hermantown closes the supplied schedule with four home games: Duluth Denfeld on Feb. 19, Esko on Feb. 25, Chisholm on Feb. 26 and North Branch on March 2. Each is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., giving the Hawks an extended stretch on their own floor after spending the opening portion of the season away from home.