By Chris Parker
Cassville girls basketball won 20 games for the first time since 2018 last season, which was also the last time the Lady Cats finished with a record better than .500.
“We had a very good mix of experience and talented youth,” Cassville head coach Clayton Bagby said. “We had four seniors that had played basketball for four years that were team-first players, and younger players who also brought experience from their freshman or sophomore years and we were able to use that experience and depth to our benefit in a lot of games.”
The youth from last season returns with more experience this season.
“Our overall athleticism and returning experience will be a plus for us,” Bagby said. “We return about 65% of our offense, and with the sophomores and juniors that have been around now, and a good summer, we already have a solid base to start adding to it from the beginning of the season.”
Audrey Kennedy and Aubrey Stoufer are both returning after earning all-conference honors last season.
Kennedy, a junior, earned second-team all-conference honors after she averaged 10 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
“Audrey is just a really good and tough athlete. She can score the ball at all three levels and is a great defender. Her starting experience and playing as a freshman definitely helped her as a sophomore be ready for the grind of the season,” Bagby said. “We expect more of the same from Audrey and to continue to improve as her confidence and aggressiveness continues to grow.”
Stoufer, a senior, was named honorable mention all-conference after she averaged 6.7 points per game with 5.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
“Aubrey is what you want your upperclassmen to be. She shows up every day in the summer and in season, one of the hardest workers on the team, and wants and expects to win. If you could pick a player for your younger athletes to model, she would be a prime example,” Bagby said. “She was our leading rebounder last year out of a guard position. As I said above, she wants and expects to win, and she is going to do everything she can to make those plays that help her team win, and while a lot of what she does shows up on the stat line, she provides a lot that doesn’t also. Her height (5’10) out of the guard spot also makes her a tough guard for other teams.”
Taylor Kennedy (junior guard), Alex Holycross (sophomore power forward) and Brylee Gross (sophomore guard) are also returning letter winners.
Taylor Kennedy contributed 3.4 points per game.
“Taylor has lettered her first two years off the bench and we expect her to step into a starting role this year,” Bagby said. “She is known for her shooting but provides length on the defensive end and can be a tough guard.”
Holycross scored 4.8 points per game with 4.9 rebounds.
“Alex started a handful of games as a freshman and was leading scorer in a few,” Bagby said. “She is a very good rebounder, and we expect to see her take steps on the offensive side this year with a year of experience.”
Gross averaged 4.6 points per game.
“(Gross) generally was our first guard off the bench last year as a freshman,” Bagby said. “Brylee is a very quick guard that averaged (4.6) points a game as a freshman before missing the last few games with an injury. She is a good shooter and defender that should take a step forward as a sophomore.”
There are a host of other players competing for varsity time.
“We have a handful of players that we expect to compete for varsity playing time beyond those 5, and whichever ones come to practice wanting to win those spots and put in the work will have the opportunity to earn minutes,” Bagby said. “Those include Joei Blankenship (senior), Tomi Blankenship (junior), Brynn Whittenburg (junior), Bri Still (sophomore), Aubrie Atkinson (sophomore), Lili Naugle (sophomore), Sammi Stockton (sophomore), Madi Yockey (sophomore), Briley Artherton (freshman) and Kynzleigh Scott (freshman).”
That group will be relied upon to provide depth.
“We lost four senior contributors from last year, and depth will be important for us and finding those girls that are going to step up and earn those minutes that we graduated,” Bagby said. “We also expect to be playing some freshman and sophomores, so continuing to mature, handle adversity, and understand the game will be important.”
Cassville hosts a jamboree on Nov. 18 with Mt. Vernon and Blue Eye before opening the regular season on Nov. 25 at home against Branson.
“As we look to fill spots this year, and with some younger girls playing, we expect there to be bumps along the way, but as long as we are improving throughout the season and put ourselves in a spot to compete at a high level in conference and district, that will be a good indicator of success,” Bagby said. “We have girls with experience returning, girls excited about playing basketball and seeing what we can do, and an overall competitive group from top to bottom. That makes going to the gym every day fun.”
