In general, I think Class 3 gets forgotten about because of just how good Strafford is. Yes, the Lady Indians are the best team in Missouri and the favorite to win a state championship. But, they aren’t the only good Class 3 team in the Ozarks. Here are six things you need to know entering this week.
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1. Strafford might be the team in the Midwest
Good. Great. Awesome. Fantastic. Marvelous. Incredible… I ran out of adjectives. Strafford was really good last year and this year’s team is even better. How good? USA Today has them ranked as the No. 1 team in Missouri and No. 30 nationally in the computer polls. MaxPreps has them at No. 3 in Missouri, behind undefeated Class 5 Lee’s Summit North and perennial power Incarnate Word. However you slice it, Strafford is really good. The win over nationally-ranked Mercer County (K.Y.) is impressive, so too is the fact that Strafford drilled Class 5 Lebanon and Lebanon, mercy-ruled Walnut Grove and Class 3 No. 4 Southern Boone, and also own wins over Skyline, Spokane and West Plains. Heck, the Lady Indians even beat a really good Rogersville team three times. The only scary part is that Fair Grove is the district host. The Lady Eagles are young, but loaded with talent. Last year Strafford beat Fair Grove in Fair Grove twice, by six and 10 respectively. Catching them in districts might be Missouri’s best shot at someone knocking them off. It is also worth mentioning that a potential quarterfinal matchup at Drury on March 4th could be undefeated Strafford vs. undefeated St. James (a little piece of me just died because I’ll be at a wedding in St. Louis that day).
a. Strafford’s numbers are sick…
I had to dedicate an entire section to talking about Strafford’s team and individual stats. If you’re curious as to why they’re so difficult to defend offensively, it’s because they share the sugar. Strafford’s two best players, Hayley Frank and Abby Oliver, are also the team’s best passers which makes it impossible for anyone on the team to be selfish with the ball. You watch film on this team and they are constantly moving the ball and making the extra pass. Strafford averages 74 PPG and nearly 70% of the team’s field goals come off assists; that’s an unreal number at any level of basketball. That’s San Antonio Spurs stuff. Hayley Frank should be the Gatorade Player of the Year, regardless of the fact she’s a sophomore. Her 24 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.9 SPG and four triple-doubles is elite stuff (if you haven’t seen her playing you’re potentially missing out on the best female basketball player to ever come through the Ozarks). C of O signee Abby Oliver is going to make Becky Vest a recruiting legend for getting her down to Taney County. Already Strafford’s all-time leading scorer, Oliver is putting up 21.3 PPG, 4.3 APG and shooting a blistering 53% from 3. She’s made the second-most 3s in a single-season in Missouri history (136). The state record for boys or girls is 149 by Chadwick’s Maddie Hursh. Oliver could shatter that record. She’s also sitting with the fifth-highest percentage ever for a player with at least 75 attempts. Frank is also shooting 56% from deep on 67 attempts, which means both players could have a shot at that record (57%) as well. The scary part is junior Zoey Mullings (8.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and sophomore Kayley Frank (9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG) would be stars on any other team in the Ozarks and if you ask Steve Frank he’ll tell you those two are the reason Strafford was able to win it all last year. Sophomore Kydnall Compton is one of the better point guards in the area as well. I’m done talking about Strafford, they have mind-numbing talent and Frank knows exactly how to pull the strings.
2. The rest of District 11 is REALLY good too
If Strafford didn’t exist, there would be three other teams in this district with a really good shot at winning a state championship. Fair Grove is the 2-seed and its losses are about as good as it gets. In fact, three losses to Skyline, one to Strafford and one to Kickapoo mean that five of Fair Grove’s losses will likely have come against state champions. The Kickapoo game was an absolute battle and the Lady Eagles might have won had standout Alana Findley not fouled out. Jenny Talbert’s team has won 23 of its last 30 games at home, which is a plus considering they host the district… Clever is another team that is really good. I vehemently disagree with the fact this team isn’t state-ranked. Remove the Strafford loss and Clever’s other five losses came by a combined 25 points to really good teams; Class 5 Lebanon by six, Class 4 West Plains by one, Class 4 Rogersville by 11, Class 4 Eldon by five and Spokane by two. I love the wins over Willard and Mount Vernon. Dan Jones has a ton of balance with freshman Allie Clevenger (12.7 PPG), sophomore Harper Little (12.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG), senior Hannah Maples (12.1 PPG, 3.3 APG) and sophomore Abi Menzies (9.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2 BPG)… We’ve been talking about how young Catholic’s roster is for the last three years and it seems like nothing has changed for Dan Stander. Catholic has wins over Mount Vernon, Walnut Grove and Willard. The Lady Irish gave Strafford as good of a game as anyone has this year back in December (56-40). Sophomore Madison Chittenden has scored 800 points in her career already. Classmate Jaycee Cabasi isn’t far behind at 500 points and Coach Stander just got his 300th win. Imagine what this team would look like if Jordan Wersinger and Audrey Warren were still wearing green jerseys.
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3. Licking is the beast out east… again
Steven Rissler has been at Licking for five seasons and his Lady Wildcats have four 20-win seasons and could be headed toward their fourth district championship in that time. Licking holds wins over basically everyone on Highway 60. The losses are quality, two to Class 4 Salem, Plato, Richland and Class 3 No. 2 St. James round out the five Ls. Licking did rebound to beat Plato in February. Rissler also has another dynamic duo in senior Ashley Ingram and freshman Karlee Holland. Ingram is putting up 13.4 PPG on 59% shooting from the field and Holland has proved herself to be one of the top freshmen in Missouri (16 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 3.1 SPG). Licking has won nine straight games and is heating up at the right time.
4. Mount Vernon streaking
Here come the Lady ‘Neers. Mount Vernon has won 14 of its last 16 games entering district play, including wins over Willard, Catholic and Butler. Last year MV struggled to win close games, which culminated in a 55-53 loss to Lamar in the first round of districts last year. This team appears to be on a mission since that loss to Kickapoo at the Pink and White. In that game Cameron Call and Mount Vernon exchanged haymakers with the Lady Chiefs for a half before foul trouble changed the course of the game. Call might be the best guard in Missouri regardless of class and along with sophomore Caitlin Hicks are one of the best backcourts in the Ozarks. Coming off of an undefeated run in the Big 8, this will be a scary team entering districts.
5. Lots of buckets in Class 3
a. Piper Francis, Liberty
Francis is simply a scoring machine. She’s averaging 26.8 PPG this season and it took her just 45 games to score her 1,000th point. The Lady Eagles have won seven of their last nine entering districts, with Francis’ 30-point explosions becoming more and more frequent. Liberty lost to Licking twice times during the regular season. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
b. Alana Findley, Fair Grove
In terms of pure effort, you won’t find many players that play harder than Alana Findley. Unfortunately for opponents she’s skilled too. Findley’s 19.2 PPG, 11 RPG and 4.3 SPG. She’s shooting 52% from the field and has 17 double-doubles. Fair Grove is 6-1 when she scores at least 25 points and she’s capable of going for 25 on any night.
c. Mallory Keith, Ash Grove
She’s one of the most decorated players in program history. Top 10 all-time at Ash Grove in scoring, assists and steals. The senior guard has gone out with a bang, leading the team in points (23 PPG), steals (3.9 SPG) and assists (3.6 APG) to go along with 5 RPG. She broke the single-season 3-point record with 64 triples and that’s coming at a 44% clip. Again, she’s a player that’s capable of having a big enough night to pull off a big upset.
d. Courtney Austin, Buffalo
Buffalo has won five out of six entering districts with Austin at the center of the surge. Her 18.1 PPG, 3.2 APG and 2.2 SPG are all team-highs and Buffalo is 7-2 when she scores at least 20 points, something she’s done in four of the team’s last six games. Her season-high 39 points came against a strong Class 4 Eldon team so she can light it up in a hurry.
e. Lacey Moore, Forsyth
Moore’s time in a Forsyth jersey is winding down but her impact as a senior will long be remembered. Her 18.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, 5.1 RPG and 4.4 SPG will easily be enough for all-conference and all-district honors, but Moore and the Lady Panthers are hungry for some district wins. A rematch with Clever, who beat Forsyth 62-58 last week, could be the best first round game in District 11.
