The 4th Annual Pink and White Lady Classic kicks off on Monday, Dec. 28 and there is no shortage of storylines, big-time players or marquee matchups. We are just days away from what could be the deepest field in the history of the event and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see three state champions emerge from this year’s group. With the countdown on, here is your guide to everything you need to know about the 2015 White Division.
Favorite: Crane
What can we say about Crane that hasn’t already been said about the 92-93 Chicago Bulls? Not much… The Lady Pirates are really good. I’m not “seasoned” enough to remember the old Marshfield teams back in the late 80s/early 90s, but in terms of legacy that might be the only girls' basketball team in the Ozarks with a more sparkly legacy than Crane, and even Marshfield didn’t win four straight state championships. Crane enters the Pink and White Lady Classic with a chance to claim its first ever PWLC championship, basically the only thing Crane hasn’t won in the last three and a half years. Four players are scoring in double figures with Drury commit Lexie Vaught leading the way (16.3 PPG), followed by Kylee Moore (13.4 PPG), Emma Lander (12.3 PPG) and Justeen Mahan (11.9 PPG). They’ve already beaten then Class 3 No. 1 Strafford and Class 5 No. 1 Kickapoo. There will be a little extra juice heading into this one with the potential semifinal matchup with Republic looming. With the Lady Tigers coming off a win over Kickapoo and deserving the No. 1 ranking in Class 5, it will give Crane the opportunity to beat the top-ranked Class 5 team three times in one calendar year. I’m not sure that’s been done before. But, there’s also some pride at stake. Just six teams have beaten Crane in the last four seasons (Marionville, Kickapoo, Republic, Nixa, St. James, Skyline) and the Lady Pirates have gotten revenge on all of them except Republic and St. James, but they have one game remaining with each team. I’m sure they are content with what they’ve done, but considering the competitive nature of this group I would be shocked if they aren’t looking forward to those (potential) rematches.
Bridesmaid: Republic
Speaking of Republic, how about those Lady Tigers? The most disrespected team in Missouri has done nothing but catch bodies for the first month of the season, owning wins over Class 5 No. 3 Kirkwood and Class 5 No. 4 Kickapoo. The Lady Tigers also hammered a very good Camdenton team on the road and came back to beat Class 4 No. 2 Carl Junction at home last week. Oh, and they’ve done all of this short-handed with guards Logan Flood and Jade Sawyer still recovering from ACL injuries. If the seeding meeting was today then Republic would easily be a No. 1, but instead we potentially get to see the Crane/Republic semifinal. Drury commit and reigning COC Large POY Brooke Stanfield is getting it done on the inside, Jordan Kabetske is scoring at all three levels, Alexis Ladwig has been bombing away from deep and a host of Lady Tigers have fulfilled perceived voids seamlessly, including new floor general Taylor Fergen. Fergen has allowed Republic to continue to play FloodBall and the scary part is she’s getting more comfortable offensively. Republic won the inaugural PWLC title and the way they’re playing, No. 2 is well within reach.
Sleeper: Skyline
Of course Skyline is here, right? The Lady Tigers are no strangers to pulling off upsets. Keep in mind Skyline won the PWLC last year thanks to a semifinal upset of Crane. Skyline has been disgustingly dominant outside of that loss to Camdenton, winning six of its seven games by at least 26 points with the lone outlier being a 17-point battle with a good Webb City team. Kevin Cheek is one of the best in the business and he brings back three starters from last year in Kaylee DaMitz, Lauren Wouters and Savannah Owen, as well as stud sixth man McKinsey Mountain, who scored 11 points in 13 minutes of that Class 2 state championship game against Crane. Cheek also brings back his entire bench. Winning back-to-back PWLC titles would be nice, so would sending a message to the rest of Class 2 that Crane still has to actually win the state championship; it’s not just given to them. The biggest key is Skyline navigating the out of area teams. They play a brand of basketball that allows them to hang with anyone and have a big enough chip on their shoulder to suggest it’s well within reason for them to make a run.
Road Blocks (Out of Area teams) – North Little Rock and Columbia Rock Bridge
I won’t lie, whichever team advances to the championship will have its hands full with North Little Rock. This is a team that is familiar with the area from coming to the KTXR Lady Classic. No joke, their mascot is the Charging Wildcats, which could be fitting considering that they have no less than six D-1 prospects, led by seniors Kyra Collier (Arkansas-Little Rock) and 6-foot-4 post Brogan Jones (Tulane). To make matters worse, 6-foot-2 Yomyris Morris is being courted by the Big 12 and SEC, as is 5-foot-6 sophomore Amber Hawkison. This is likely the most talented team in the field.
I’m still not sold on Rock Bridge; let’s just say they aren’t the same team that has won five of the last eight Class 5 state championships. But, what they do have is size. Juniors Madison Treece (6-foot-4) and Avery Schroeder (6-foot-5) are high-major prospects and Treece has already committed to Kentucky. They are still a good basketball team, but not the seemingly unbeatable juggernaut they were in the past with Sophie Cunningham running the show.
Player You Should Know: Lexie Vaught, Crane
Let me drop some knowledge on you… Lexie Vaught is really good at playing basketball. Her stat line for this year is ridiculous (16.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 6.7 SPG, and 6.1 APG) and on top of that she is shooting 53% from the field and she’s averaging better than three assists for every turnover. And it’s not like she’s playing corpses, the worst team Crane has played is Purdy, which is 6-2 and one of the best Class 2 teams in the area. In wins over then No. 1 Strafford and Kickapoo, Vaught averaged 17-10-8-7 and shot 12-for-17 from the field. If we were playing fantasy basketball she would be the No. 1 pick and it wouldn’t even be a discussion. Can we go ahead and start the discussion for her to win Miss Show-Me Basketball?
Player That Could Ruin the Bracket: Payton Richards, West Plains
It’s not March, but the madness could happen when No. 6 West Plains makes a semifinal run and Richards will be leading the charge. The 5-foot-7 Drury commit is playing elite basketball right now (18.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.3 APG and 3.4 SPG) and she’s been even better as of late, averaging 21 PPG in her last four. Scott Womack is able to surround her with players like Elle Williams (15.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG), Kendra Davidson (8.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and Lily Harris (5.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG) that have been perfect compliments. The Lady Zizzers have a favorable draw, don’t be surprised to see them in the Final Four of the PWLC if Richards continues her level of play.
The Glass Slipper Might Fit: Michelle Gabani, Bolivar – The Lady Liberators are the most likely unseeded team to make a run, which seems unlikely considering Rock Bridge and it’s 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4 front line stand in the way, but that’s where Gabani comes in. The 5-foot-10 sophomore is playing well (12.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, 3 SPG) but she’s just scratching the surface. Kaylie Rothdiener is playing great basketball, averaging 21.8 PPG and shooting 56% from the field but if the Lady Libs are to make a run then Gabani will have to become even more of a force on both ends.
Breakout Player: Alana Findley, Fair Grove – I promise this freshman crop is one of the best the Ozarks has ever seen and Findley is right there at the top. The 5-foot-9 freshman is the reason why Fair Grove could spoil that potential Crane/Republic semifinal that everyone wants to see. She’s averaging 15.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.2 SPG and 2.2 BPG and has four double-doubles in six games. And the bigger the stage, the bigger her game. Against Class 5 Lebanon, Class 4 West Plains and perennial Class 3 contender Mount Vernon, Findley averaged 21 PPG and 16 RPG.
(Potential) Matchups That You Want to See
Crane vs. Republic
Well duh. They haven’t played since 2012, that’s when these current seniors were freshmen and the Lady Pirates struggled to contain Alice Heinzler and company. The matchups this year are insanely intriguing. Vaught vs. Kabetske. Stanfield vs. Lander. Mahan vs. Ladwig. Moore vs. Fergen. Mullins vs. Flood. Both are undefeated and both have something to prove, albeit for different reasons. For our purposes, this would be the championship.
Skyline vs. West Plains
I love this one because of the grittiness of each team and the two point guards. DaMitz and Richards have plenty of similarities and for two teams that want to make trips to Columbia, playing a prize fight game like this will help. It will be even more intriguing if this game happens following upsets of the out of area 2/3 seeds.
Clever vs. Mount Vernon
Seems and it kind of is with two Class 3 teams that will likely end up on the back side of the bracket. But, this game will pit two of the area’s best freshmen against each other in Cameron Call (Mount Vernon) and Harper Little (Clever). This will be a marquee game in years to come.
