The Girls basketball head coach is Mr. Eddie Cotter, while the assistant coach is Mrs. Katie Haun. See our game schedule.

St. Ambrose girls basketball team kicked off the winter sports season in the beginning of November, 2009. This is the second year for the girls program under head coach Eddie Cotter, who welcomed five players back from last year and added six new players. A week into practice, Coach Cotter commented on how well the new players were blending in with the veterans: “This year’s squad members are continuing to develop as basketball players and have come together to form a genuine team who have a strong desire to get the team’s first official win.” It didn’t take long for this to happen. The girls fought hard in the third game of the Reedsburg tournament and beat Beth Haven Green Bay, 33 to 18. Not only was this the first SAA basketball victory, but the SAA players, coaches, and spectators came home with the sportsmanship trophy for the tournament.

Making History, a Note From Coach Cotter Before the First Game

The first team sport at St. Ambrose Academy was Girls Basketball. Eight girls made history on December 3, 2007, when they took the court for the first time. Coach Cotter sent the St. Ambrose community this note before this first game:

The Maiden Voyage

Today is a great day for us to begin this new adventure. It is the Feast Day of Saint Francis Xavier, the great missionary priest who traveled into unfamiliar territory and uncharted waters to do God's work. For most of our girls, it is the same when it comes to the sport of basketball. Until last week our team had never even seen a basketball game. Without a doubt in every game this season we will be the underdogs and will play against girls who have between 3-8 years of organized basketball experience. But that is OK.

Our goal for this year was to put a uniformed team from St. Ambrose Academy on the floor to play the game of basketball. Tonight that will happen. Tonight at the very moment our girls run onto the floor at the Bishop O'Connor Center wearing their St. Ambrose Academy jerseys we will have achieved our first victory - it will be "the cake" - and every point, and every rebound that follows will be just another bit of icing on that victorious cake. I assure you we will play hard and we will play to win - but the final score really won't matter all that much. In less than ten weeks time our girls with their big commitment have become a high school basketball team. And it is a team we can all wrap ourselves around and be proud of.

This is a victory. We thank God for this victory and all the blessings and victories that are just around the corner. It is a privilege to witness history, to be part of history and to make history. Tonight this will happen. Five, ten, twenty years from now, remember that it started with these girls - "our girls" - tonight. Someday when St. Ambrose Academy wins its first State Championship, remember that it all started with our girls tonight. So congratulations and thank you, Theresa, Mary, Susie, Anna, Lucy, Carrie, Mimi and Maeve. We all love you and we'll see you tonight.

Coach Eddie Cotter

St. Ambrose - pray for us!

Our Lady of Victory - pray for us!

December 3, 2007