Jan. 18 Girls Basketball Power Rankings

By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer

Each week, OzarksSportsZone.com will release local girls basketball power rankings. Like our other power rankings, these rankings will be based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head matchups.

Recent success and strength of schedule are also factored into the rankings. These rankings are through games played on Jan. 17.

Overall record, Class and last week’s ranking are listed in parenthesis.

JAN. 11 POWER RANKINGS
JAN. 4 POWER RANKINGS
DEC. 21 POWER RANKINGS
DEC. 14 POWER RANKINGS
DEC. 7 POWER RANKINGS
NOV. 28 POWER RANKINGS

1. Strafford (16-0, C3, LW: 1)

Strafford has beat its last three opponents by a combined 212 points, or 70.7 points per game. Those haven’t exactly been tough opponents, but the scores have still been staggering: 90-11 over Conway, 91-11 over Marionville, 70-17 over Joplin. They get Willard Wednesday night in the Rogersville tournament semifinals. Good luck, Tigers.

This week: 1/18 Willard (C5, 8-5), 1/23 Willow Springs (C3, 9-7)

2. Skyline (13-2, C2, LW: 2)

No games for Skyline last week after the Skyline Tournament finals matchup with Class 3 Fair Grove was pushed to Jan. 18. Skyline topped Fair Grove 51-41 in the Pink & White on Dec. 29. A bit of an interesting schedule this week with games coming against a good Class 2 team in Hartville and a pretty good Class 1 team in Hermitage.

This week: 1/18 Fair Grove (C3, 11-4), 1/19 El Dorado Springs (C3, 4-8), 1/21 Hartville (C2, 13-5), 1/23 Hermitage (C1, 10-5)

3. Walnut Grove (13-2, C1, LW: 3)

A nice 28-point win over Class 3 Ash Grove (8-7) helps the résumé. Walnut Grove also beat C1 Humansville, 65-21. It’s not going to get much more difficult for the Tigers this week. Their next potential challenge is probably C3 Springfield Catholic (8-6) on Jan. 28.

This week: 1/20 Weaubleau (C1, 7-5), 1/24 Buffalo (C3, 5-10)

4. Kickapoo (13-3, C5, LW: 4)

Tough win last week against a strong defensive team in Class 4 West Plains. Kickapoo’s 61 points in the 11-point win were the most against West Plains since the Zizzers lost 61-54 to Ozark on Dec. 15 eight games ago. Strafford, which is likely the best team in the state regardless of Class, managed just 60 points against the Zizzers. Additionally, Lebanon’s upset of Class 5 No. 1 Jefferson City makes the Chiefs’ two double-digit wins over the Lady Jackets look even better.

This week: 1/19 Webb City (C4, 6-5), 1/20 Chanute, Kan. (1-7), 1/21 Battle (C5, 5-10)

5. Gainesville (15-0, C2, LW: 10)

It’s about that time to move the Bulldogs on up after impressing in a 44-29 win over Class 2 Norwood in the Sparta Tournament championship. There’s no single star on this team with four Bulldogs finishing with 10 points in that win over then-undefeated Norwood. The Pirates had been averaging 65.8 points coming into that game and the 29 points Gainesville held them to was a season-low by 24 points. With wins over Dora and Mountain Grove to close out the week, Gainesville has now won 89 of its last 100 games. Nice! Gainesville faces a tough Class 2 opponent in Hartville on the road on Monday. That game opens one of the toughest three-game stretches any team will face all season with games against C2 Thayer (14-1) and C2 Spokane (14-2) following.

This week: 1/19 Mansfield (C2, 5-9), 1/20 Lutie (C1), 1/23 Hartville (C2, 13-5)

6. Thayer (16-1, C2, LW: 8)

The Lady Bobcats are rolling through the Thayer Winter Classic so far with easy wins over C1 Koshkonong and C1 Bakersfield. They should have no problem winning the TWC and moving to an attractive 17-1 record. Only one other game this week so let’s start the hype now for Thayer’s Jan. 26 matchup with undefeated C2 Gainesville.

This week: Thayer Winter Classic

7. Purdy (12-1, C2, LW: 9)

Purdy is the fourth Class 2 team in the Top 7 of these rankings and helped themselves out this week with a big 55-49 win over C2 Pierce City (12-3) behind 27 points and 10 boards by Layne Skiles. The Lady Eagles trailed by six at the half before outscoring visiting Pierce City by 12 in the second half. They’re set to face C3 Ash Grove in the Marionville Tournament semifinals on Thursday.

This week: 1/19 Ash Grove (C3, 8-7), 1/23 East Newton (C3, 8-7), 1/24 Thomas Jefferson (C2, 3-5)

8. Rogersville (11-5, C4, LW: 5)

I talked last week about how hungry West Plains was going to be for its first rematch with Rogersville since the Wildcats pulled an early season upset, and that proved true. The Zizzers returned the favor last Thursday, beating Rogersville 42-34. The 34 points ties the fewest Rogersville has scored in a game all season. While the result was different, this game wasn’t all too dissimilar from when Rogersville topped West Plains 44-40 the first time they played. These two will likely see other again come district time. I still like what Rogersville has done this season with I view as the toughest schedule amongst our top Class 4 teams. The Wildcats face Catholic in a sneaky-tough game in the Rogersville Tournament semis on Jan. 18.

This week: 1/18 Springfield Catholic (C3, 8-6), 1/23 Springfield Central (C5, 1-11)

9. Carl Junction (8-1, C4, LW: 6)

We often gush about offensive outputs, but what Carl Junction does to opponents defensively is pretty incredible. The Bulldogs beat Class 5 Branson (12-3) 29-27 last Thursday. The only other team to stall Branson so effectively this season was Class 5 No. 4 Rock Bridge (12-2) in a 56-24 win over the Pirates. CJ will participate in the Pittsburg, Kan. Tournament this week.

This week: 1/19 North Kansas City (C5, 7-3), 1/20 Pittsburg Tournament, 1/21 Pittsburg Tournament

10. Wheatland (12-1, C1, LW: 11)

Wheatland escaped with its second win of the season over C2 Fair Play (8-5), 59-57. This one came in the Lakeland Tournament semifinals. They’ll get Fair Play for a third time this week as well as a matchup with a pretty good C2 Richland team.

This week: 1/20 Sheldon (C1, 2-9), 1/23 Richland (C2, 7-5), 1/24 Fair Play (C2, 8-5)

11. Fair Grove (11-4, C3, LW: 12)

An intriguing matchup with C2 Skyline for the Skyline Tournament championship was put on hold to Jan. 18 due to last week’s ice storm. Skyline may be a Class under Fair Grove but that doesn’t diminish the importance of that game. In its one game this week, Fair Grove easily handled C3 El Dorado Springs (4-8), 73-42.

This week: 1/18 Skyline (C2, 13-2), 1/19 Monett (C4, 2-9), 1/23 Willard (C5, 8-5)

12. Norwood (14-1, C2, LW: 7)

The Pirates lost an important Class 2 battle with Gainesville by 15 points in a game where both teams entered 12-0. Norwood struggled to find open looks against Gainesville’s perimeter defense and was held nearly 37 points below its season average in the 44-29 loss. The Pirates have responded nicely with wins of 65-37 over C2 Forland (9-7) and 60-39 over C2 Mansfield (5-9).

This week: 1/19 Dora (C1, 6-6), 1/23 Mansfield Tournament

13. Pierce City (12-3, C2, LW: 14)

Pierce City had a big chance for a statement win against Purdy last week but couldn’t hold onto a six-point first-half lead on the road, losing 55-49. Still, that game showed that Pierce City and Purdy are pretty even right now and the winner of District 12 (more than likely Purdy or Pierce City) has one of the kinder Class 2 draws in the state tournament. The Lady Eagles face Baxter Springs, Kan. in the Cherokee, Kan. Tournament semis on Thursday.

This week: 1/19 Baxter Springs, Kan. (6-1), 1/21 Cherokee, Kan. Tournament, 1/24 Diamond (C3, 2-11)

14. West Plains (9-6, C4, LW: 15)

West Plains got its revenge on Rogersville for that early season upset, beating the Wildcats 42-34 last Thursday. Rogersville led in that game 22-16 at the half and 31-30 entering the fourth quarter, but West Plains shut the Wildcats down offensively in the final eight minutes, outscoring them 12-3. Elle Williams (23 points) and Payton Richards (12) combined for 35 of West Plains’ 42 points. The Zizzers also hung tough with C5 Kickapoo this week, trailing by seven entering the fourth quarter in a 61-50 road loss. They open the Pittsburg Tournament with C5 Winnetonka on Thursday.

This week: 1/19 Winnetonka (C5, 5-5), 1/20 Pittsburg Tournament, 1/21 Pittsburg Tournament

15. Lebanon (9-4, C5, LW: NR)

The Lady Yellowjackets’ 45-35 upset of MBCA Class 5 No. 1 Jefferson City (12-1) means they’re no longer just flirting with the Top 15. Plus, it gave us this Brendan Kelley dance (above)! Dabo Swinney would be proud. This is a huge win for Lebanon’s confidence going forward and is proof that the two double-digit losses to Kickapoo didn’t discourage this team one bit. Lebanon will play host to maybe the most intriguing game this week when MBCA C5 No. 10 Waynesville (9-3) comes to town on Thursday. Waynesville upset MBCA C5 No. 2 Hickman (13-2) last Thursday. The winner of this Thursday’s matchup should see a nice boost in next week’s state rankings.

This week: 1/19 Waynesville (C5, 9-3), 1/21 Aurora (C4, 4-9)

Keep an Eye On: Waynesville (C5, 9-3), Clever (C3, 11-4), Spokane (C2, 14-2), Branson (C5, 12-3), Hartville (C2, 13-5), Newburg (C2, 12-3), Alton (C2, 10-6), Licking (C3, 11-4)