After repeating as Arrowhead Conference champions and recording a second straight season of 20-plus wins, the Sandburg women’s basketball team opens its 2025-26 campaign Sunday afternoon at home.
The Chargers will host Culver-Stockton JV at 1 p.m. Sunday in the opening game of a men’s/women’s doubleheader against the Wildcats. Sandburg plays three of its first four games at home before going on the road for three in a row to close November.
The Chargers, led by fourth-year coach Kellen Fernetti, finished last season with a 22-10 overall record and won a share of the Arrowhead title with a 7-1 mark.
KEY RETURNERS
Antonia Kisler (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg), 5-foot-9 sophomore forward
• Averaged team-highs of 15.5 points and 8.9 rebounds as a freshman last season.
• Also shot 42 percent from the field and 85 percent at the free-throw line while averaging 1.8 points and 1.8 steals.
• Recorded 11 double-doubles in 32 games.
• Voted first-team All-Arrowhead Conference and first-team All-Region 4 last season.
• Fernetti: “Antonia had a monster freshman season for us, and this fall she’s picked right up where she left off. She can play all five positions for us and guard all five positions. Antonia makes her teammates better each and every day. She sets the tone for us as a team. As good a player as she is, she’s an even better teammate and person.”
Tiera Hall (Katy, Texas/Paetow), 5-6 sophomore guard
• Averaged 7.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in her freshman campaign.
• Scored in double figures in six of the Chargers’ last season games last season.
• Fernetti: “Tiera is a well-rounded basketball player who fills up the stat sheet every night. She defends at a high level. Tiera was needed to step up for us when we had an injury right after Christmas, and she filled the void perfectly. Tiera is at her best offensively when she’s aggressive in getting to the rim and attacking the paint. I’m excited to see the year Tiera will have this season.”
Lillian Covarrubias (San Antonio, Texas/Southwest), 5-4 sophomore guard
• Averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-best 4.3 assists in 31 games last year.
• Fernetti: “Lillian improved as the season went on a year ago, and so far in the fall you can see the confidence in her game. She’s true point guard who looks to set up others and can also score the ball. Lillian improved defensively last year and is capable of applying great defensive pressure on the ball. She brings a great amount of joy to our team each day.”
KEY NEWCOMERS
Hailey Redding (Avon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon), 5-10 freshman forward• Finished her high school career as the all-time leading scorer in Abingdon-Avon history.
• Fernetti: “Hailey can really score the basketball, especially from the 3-point line. Hailey is also a tremendous worker and competitor, and she comes from a highly successful high school program. Hailey’s brought a winning mindset with her to the Chargers.”
Camryn Atterberg (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk), 6-1 freshman forward
• Fernetti: “Cam had a stellar high school career and is a phenomenal defender and athlete. She ranked highly in the state of Iowa in blocks, rebounds and steals her senior season. Cam knows winning, as the Chiefs did a lot of that in her four years in Keokuk. We look forward to her being a hard worker and great teammate for the Chargers.”
Lajaya Angel (Kewanee, Ill./Wethersfield), 5-9 freshman guard
• Fernetti: “Lajaya comes to Sandburg after a strong career for the Flying Geese. She’s a versatile player who can play multiple positions and guard several different positions. Lajaya is a great athlete who has a lot of potential to be a big impact player for us.”
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON?
Fernetti: “Our goal as always is to be better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today. Win today. If we can do that and stack the days, we hope to be playing our best basketball in February and March. We want to have consistent daily improvement, and we know we have to be at our best for each game on our schedule.”
THIS WILL BE A SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF …
Fernetti: “We can achieve success if we are 15 strong pulling in the same direction, with players and coaches all in alignment and together. The team has to be the strongest part of what we do. If we can continue to defend and rebound, play with a great pace and share, we have a chance to be a competitive basketball team. We live by the three Es and three Ts: Effort, energy, enthusiasm, togetherness, toughness and trust.”
GAMES TO WATCH
• Nov. 15 vs. Madison (Chargers basketball alumni reunion and Paint the House Red Day)
• Jan. 22 at Black Hawk
• Feb. 17 vs. Black Hawk
HOW TO FOLLOW THE CHARGERS
• Watch Chargers home games live and on-demand on the Sandburg YouTube channel.
• Sign up for SportReporting to get free text and/or email notifications of Chargers game results.
• Follow @SandburgNJCAA on Twitter.
• Like @sandburgchargers on Facebook.
• Follow @sandburgchargers on Instagram.
2025-26 SANDBURG WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER
2025-26 SANDBURG WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
***Courtesy of Sandburg***
