In her rookie season as interim head coach of the Prescott girls’ basketball team, Joan Korfhage led the program to a 19-8 overall record, a Middle Border Conference championship, and a sectional semi-final appearance.

Since the season ended, Korfhage has made it clear to the school that she wants the interim title removed and to move forward as the head coach of the program. This season was special in many ways for Prescott. It was the Cardinals’ third straight conference championship with a roster that included four players who received all-conference recognition.

Throughout the season in postgame interviews, Korfhage spoke about how happy she was to be coaching this specific group of girls. After the loss in the sectional semi-final game against Saint Croix Falls on Thursday, Feb. 28, Korfhage had the following to say about her first year running the program.

“It was probably the best team that any firstyear coach could have,” Korfhage said. “They’re an amazing group of girls and an amazing group of seniors that we are going to miss deeply next year from a leadership standpoint.”

While Korfhage was reserved in some of her comments this season, she didn’t hold back when speaking about wanting to return next season to coach this group of girls again.

“I hope to come back, but right now, I’m interim,” Korfhage said. “I want to continue. I think Owen (Hamilton) and I (work well together). I love working with the girls and hopefully, they had a good season too. I think we did better than anybody thought we would.”

Prescott certainly had a good season by any standards, even those set by previous Prescott teams that made deep runs into the playoffs. After graduating four senior starters, even Korfhage herself thought the team might set up for a rebuild this season.

Instead, the Cardinals picked up right where they left off – winning conference championships. The play of young athletes such as sophomore Lila Posthuma, junior Katrina Budworth and junior Izzy Matzek led the way for Prescott’s Middle Border Conference championship.

While Korfhage would like to come back to the program, that isn’t necessarily up to her. Prescott Athletic Director Andrew Caudill spoke about the process moving forward in terms of Korfhage’s potential return to the head coaching position.

“I will conduct a review of the program, which will include giving stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in,” Caudill wrote in an email response. “After my review, I will make a recommendation to the Superintendent. If he agrees with my recommendation, he will take it to the school board for final approval.”

Although Caudill will take his time in doing a review of the program, it’s hard to argue against Korfhage’s success this season. In the last five years, only once did Prescott make it further in the playoffs than Korfhage’s 2021-22 season as interim head coach, which ended in the aforementioned sectional semi-final game.

While success is important, it’s not the endall- be-all of high school sports. Sometimes, familiarity with the program matters, and positive relationship building with kids is also critical. Korfhage appears to have both in spades.

In the four seasons before becoming the interim head coach, Korfhage was a junior varsity coach for two years and ran the eighth-grade program two years before her stint at the junior varsity level. She’s no stranger to how the program works and has coached kids at various levels.

According to Caudill, there is no timetable for when the review of the program will be complete along with his official recommendation to the Superintendent. However, he did state that since the school board only meets once per month, he wouldn’t want the final approval to go any later than the May board meeting if everything remains on schedule.

That means the public will likely know the next full-time Prescott girls’ basketball head coach no later than May 31, as long as everything moves smoothly. Whether it’s Korfhage or another candidate at the helm, there is a lot to look forward to for Prescott next season.

The Cardinals have, unquestionably, one of the best rosters in the Middle Border Conference for the 2022-23 season. The aforementioned trio of Posthuma, Matzek and Budworth, is as good as any in the conference.

Posthuma’s length as well as her passing ability, in addition to Matzek’s shooting and Budworth’s playmaking, is a recipe for success. Without any significant injuries to the roster, Prescott will likely compete for first place in the Middle Border Conference and potentially win a fourth consecutive conference title.

The future is bright for the Prescott girls’ basketball team and interim head coach Korfhage has made her position clear – she wants to return to the program for the 2022-23 season and have the interim portion of her title removed.