The pace-of-play expectations often remain the same, but not every player has the comfort level their freshman year that Bethany Lutheran College’s Morgan Hulke has.

And while she originally had to be talked into continuing her basketball career in college, Hulke’s ability to adapt and bond with her teammates as a freshman has paid off so far as she’s earned herself a starting spot with the Vikings women’s basketball team.

Hulke, a 2025 New Ulm High School graduate, is averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds per game with the Vikings. While she got substantial minutes right away with the Vikings, Hulke’s spot in the starting rotation wasn’t an automatic decision for Vikings head coach Emma Purfeerst to make.

“The first couple games I was obviously hesitant because it’s my first time playing in college,” Hulke said. “I knew what I was doing, but I was also scared, so my coach had to pull me aside in one of the first games and she was, like, ‘Hey, this isn’t your first basketball game, just relax, you know what you’re doing.’ I would say they just had so much confidence in me. My teammates have so much confidence in me and the biggest thing they were telling me is to contribute by scoring and just looking for my teammates.”

File photos by Travis Rosenau Above: Bethany Lutheran College’s Morgan Hulke dribbles the ball during an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball game at Martin Luther College in New Ulm on Jan. 21.

After coming off the bench her first 12 games throughout November and December, Hulke’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Purfeerst as Hulke earned her first college start in a game at Central College in Iowa on Jan. 3.

“I knew going from high school to college was going to be a huge difference in like the pace in the game,” Hulke said. “Everyone was going to be bigger, faster, stronger, everyone on the court was going to be good and wanting to play. I worked really hard in the summer with some of my trainers and just basically getting in the gym and weight room whenever I could, so I definitely worked for it. But before the season actually started, I think I put myself in a good position of working hard to earn a spot that could be playing a lot, which my work has been paying off lately.”

Hulke’s first start against Central also came against former teammate and fellow 2025 New Ulm High School grad Maddie Backer. Hulke scored 11 points, while Backer came off the bench to score 10 points as Central earned the win, 68-58.

Hulke’s first college game came against St. Scholastica on Nov. 7, 2025 in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She scored 6 points in 22 minutes off the bench in a 64-53 loss.

Hulke said it was a tournament with several other teams there watching, so she was nervous when she was the first one Purfeest subbed into the game as a reserve. Her nerves didn’t settle right away, but by the second half, Hulke felt right at home.

“I do remember I started off like I had an assist right away, but then after that I had one or two turnovers and I was getting in my head about it. Then when I came out, my coach, that’s when she told me, ‘Relax, you’ve played so many games, you can do this, it’s just college, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’ Then I went back in, my first point was a free throw and then the second half went way better. I think I had a 3 and a layup.

“I was definitely nervous and I was super excited to start getting into games because we’ve done so much practicing and lifting and conditioning, the prep for the game, so it was really exciting to start games. … I was just a young freshman just starting to get going, but now I just feel like, I think I told Emma this, I just feel free. It doesn’t even feel like I’m a freshman, it feels like I’ve been playing here for so much longer when it’s only been two, three months of games.”

Much like with the New Ulm Eagles, the Vikings haven’t shied away from utilizing Hulke’s catch-and-shoot abilities. Hulke’s 3-point presence has seen her hit on 46.1% of her shots from beyond the arc, which has been a big boost for the Vikings’ offense so far.

“I would say my 3-point shooting [has helped the team most],” Hulke said. “We have a really good presence with our posts. We have two of them [Arinn McGee and Kenadi Arndt] that start off the game right away, so they’re both really talented. And on the scouting report for other teams, they’ve got to be at the top, so for the other teams’ defenses, they’re always going to collapse on them, so our shooters are usually almost always open.

“So I think for me, being able to knock down the 3s early and staying confident and consistent making them, and then also looking for my teammates as well and getting assists, basically just contributing any way that I can to help my team succeed.”

Right: Hulke walks with the ball after drawing a foul late in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball game at Martin Luther College on Jan. 21.

In addition to the pace of play, Hulke said the atmosphere and commitment to the game of basketball has been some of the bigger changes from high school.

Overall, Hulke’s new journey with BLC has been a growing joy for her and has exceeded expectations.

“I love it so far,” Hulke said. “Each day I go to practice, I’m so excited. I love my coaches, I love my teammates. Right away they were all super welcoming, which is huge, because obviously we’re with [each other] basically all the time, every day of the week, so forming a good connection with them was really important for me.”

Among her growing bond with her new teammates, Hulke said she got along very easily with a couple of players in particular, like 2022 Minnesota Valley Lutheran grad and BLC senior Kaylee Hunter. She also has formed a good friendship with her roommate and freshman teammate Presley James, a 2025 graduate from Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.

Ultimately, Hulke has gotten to know all of her teammates well and is happy to be a Viking.

“There are just so many,” Hulke said. “I can say a good thing about every single one of them, but I think that would take me an hour to through them all [laughs].”