By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Clever’s girls basketball program enjoyed another successful season in 2025, capturing a second-straight district title.
The Blue Jays finished with a 15-13 record, falling to El Dorado Springs in the Class 3 sectional round.
Heading into his fifth season at the helm, Clever head coach Clark Satterlee believes the experience obtained through last year’s challenges will prove invaluable to his team as it prepares for the winter campaign.
“We had a solid season in 24-25 after returning limited varsity experience (the prior year we had played just six girls primarily, and four of them graduated),” Satterlee said. “We exceeded expectations and captured another district championship (third in the last four years).”
Clever will be led this season by a pair of returning all-conference and all-district selections in Mackenzie Camp and Bella Argo.
Camp, a 5-foot-7 senior, averaged 12.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2 steals per contest last season.
“Kenzie has been a varsity contributor her whole high school career,” Satterlee said. “Last year she usually guarded the other team’s best player in addition to being a main scorer for us. This year it will be more of the same, as I expect her to take another step forward and have a great senior season. She is also our team leader, which will be an important role with a roster full of underclassmen.”
Argo, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, averaged 13.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game as a freshman.
“Bella got better and better as the season went on last year, developing quickly as a freshman,” Satterlee said. “We will need her to continue to expand on her already strong offensive game and score for us both inside and out. She will also anchor our defense and rebounding on the inside.”
Starter Katelyn Butts, a 5-foot-7 junior also returns following a season where she averaged 2.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
“‘KB’ is the glue a team needs to hold things together and do the dirty work,” Satterlee said. “She will be asked to take on tougher defensive assignments this season and has been working on her jumper to become a consistent shooter.”
5-foot-6 sophomore Kinley Burk, 5-foot-4 sophomore Lex Flood, 5-foot-4 junior Izi Hunter and 5-foot-9 senior Savannah Cheney round out Clever’s returning core.
Satterlee on Burk (4.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg): “Kinley fought through some sickness midseason last year before really taking off and finishing the year strong. She is a great shooter/scorer and we will need her to be a threat for us every night. Her improved defense and rebounding will also be beneficial.”
Satterlee on Flood (2.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg): “Lex is one of the fastest players I’ve coached and her ability to disrupt ball handlers was key for us last year. We expect her to be even more of a menace on defense this season and knock down 3s regularly as an outside shooter. We will also need her to help handle the ball.”
Satterlee on Hunter: “Izi should be a solid contributor for us, knocking down shots and distributing the ball. She is a good help defender who plays with a high basketball IQ.”
Satterlee on Cheney: “Savannah is the ultimate team player, willing to do whatever is asked of her. She should help us out with defense and rebounding. She is also a great encourager for all her teammates.”
Satterlee also expects a quartet of varsity newcomers to compete for playing time this season in 6-foot senior Valerie Cowles, 5-foot-6 freshman Braylin Anderson, 5-foot-9 freshman Taryn Wheeler and 5-foot-5 freshman Piper Lisek.
“We return a lot of experience and skill from last year, which should pay dividends this year,” Satterlee said. “We will focus on playing solid half-court defense, applying pressure and getting into passing lanes. Our biggest improvement from last year needs to come in rebounding, so that will be a major focus of ours. Offensively, we will look to push the ball in transition and be patient in half-court offense to get great shots. We expect to compete well in our Conference and be in the mix come district time.”
Following a Nov. 18 jamboree at McAuley Catholic, Clever opens its season Nov. 25 at home against Marshfield.
