DeMotte Christian Knights

Basketball season is here! The Demotte Christian Lady Knights open their season on Tuesday night at Whiting. It’s an exciting time for the program, which is entering its fifth season under head coach Mike DeFries. DMC is 59-33 in those five years. The Lady Knights are coming off of a twelve-win season that ended in heartbreaking fashion, an intense 37-35 loss to Kouts in the sectional semifinals. It’s fair to say that hopes are high for the 2024-25 season. The Knights return their entire starting lineup and key bench pieces from last year’s team, including a very talented senior class. Sophie Bakker was the leading scorer last season at 12.2 per game, including 41 three pointers, and led the team in assists with 3.4. Her twin sister Claire averaged 9.5 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting 49% from the field. Claire Bakker is also the all-time leader in rebounds– and she’s got another year to pile on. Senior Audrey DeVries is another key leader for DMC, averaging seven points and five rebounds last season. Junior guard Cassie Nanninga was the leader in total minutes last season, contributing on both sides of the floor. Other players to watch are senior wing Allie Myers, juniors Cheznie Kooy and Cora Dyke, and senior Ella Rottier. The other story of the season for DMC basketball is the IHSAA sectional realignment. Both the boys and girls teams have been moved to a new sectional. Instead of heading north to Porter County to face opponents like Kouts, Morgan Township, and Westville, DMC will go down south. The Lady Knights will play at West Central in Sectional 50, paired with fellow Midwest Conference members North Newton, South Newton, North White, Tri-County, and host West Central. Caston and Pioneer round out the field. While it’s difficult to project, the Lady Knights should be contenders in the Midwest Conference, won by Tri-County in 2024, and be competitive come sectional time. After opening the season on the road Tuesday night, the Lady Knights will be home this weekend for back-to-back matchups with Heritage Christian on Friday night and Victory Christian on Saturday. Show up and support the team! Let’s go Knights!