By John Miller
The Kickapoo Lady Chiefs couldn’t have asked for a better finish to their 2015-2016 season.
A program with three state championships since 2000 added a fourth in March, taking down Kirkwood 63-53 in the Class 5 state championship game.
The team finished with a 29-3 mark, including a perfect 10-0 run through the Ozark Conference—claiming the program’s first conference title since 2011.
As the Lady Chiefs look at defending last year’s conference and state titles, they’ll have to plug some holes first.
Four-year varsity players Laura Vierkant, Hannah Cantrell, and Sharon Lopez all graduated, finishing their Kickapoo careers with an 88-28 record and a 76 percent winning percentage.
Vierkant, a first team all-state pick, was a four-year starter for the Lady Chiefs and finished No. 1 in program history with 430 free throws made (130 more than second place on the list). She’s continuing her basketball career at Southwest Baptist University.
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Kickapoo will also be without Taya Hall, Audrey Warren, and Leah Vokolek. At 6-foot-2, Hall’s presence in the paint will be missed. She graduated early while Warren moved to Texas and Vokolek, a Missouri State volleyball commit, has decided to focus on volleyball.
That’s seven players gone from last year, leaving playing time up for grabs at a number of different positions.
“We lost over 50 percent of our scoring from last season,” said Kickapoo coach Jim Pendergrass, who has a 133-47 record in seven years leading the program. “We have four players with varsity experience and a bunch of young kids. Our veterans must bring us consistency and leadership.”
Those veterans—two seniors and two juniors—will be relied upon heavily, but that’s not a bad thing. They’re very talented.
Five-foot-10 senior Jordan Sanders averaged 16 points and 7.3 rebounds last year for the Lady Chiefs and will be continuing her basketball career at the University of California-Irvine next year. She’ll lead the way for Kickapoo this season. “Jordan provides us a lift on both ends of the floor,” Pendergrass said. “She is a long and athletic player and provides a mismatch for the player she has to go against. Jordan has tremendous physical strength and power.”
Junior guard Jordan Wersinger averaged 14 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds last year. “She’s a multi-dimensional point guard who has the ability to get to the rim and also shoot the 3-pointer,” Pendergrass said.
Senior guard Ari Acuff and junior guard Hannah Collins also will provide some stability in the backcourt for the Lady Chiefs this season. Acuff shot 53 percent from 3-point range (31 of 58) and averaged 4 points per game. Collins, also a good outside shooter, added 7 points and 1.5 assists per game.
Kickapoo will also depend on the play of a group of five newcomers: sophomores Autumn Stephens, Natasha Whittet, Katrice Jackson, and Lexi Armstrong, and freshman Jaden Wiley.
“We want to play an up-tempo pace,” Pendergrass said, “and developing our depth will be a key for our success. For us to have a great season, we need to be really good on defense and rebounding the ball.”
After winning a state title last year, the team knows they’ll have a target on their back all year long.
“Every team will be out to get us, so we will need to bring our best each game,” Wersinger said. “We need to step up as players into new roles to continue our dominance.”
