The difference between Kickapoo and the rest of the Ozark Conference is the Lady Chiefs have Jordan Sanders and no one else does.
On Thursday the 5-foot-10 junior showed just how dominant she can be, scoring 12 of Kickapoo’s first 13 points, leading the Lady Chiefs to a 69-40 road win over Lebanon in both teams’ Ozark Conference opener Thursday night in Boswell Auditorium.
“If you can get the ball inside you have a high percentage of scoring. She’s shooting a high percentage this year and we did a tremendous job of passing and getting her touches,” said Kickapoo coach James Pendergrass. “Our ball movement was the best I’ve ever seen it and I look forward to seeing more of it.”
Sanders scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter giving Kickapoo a 17-7 lead after the opening eight minutes.
Playing inside-out, Kickapoo’s guards were able to take over from there, using fullcourt pressure to create tempo. The Lady Chiefs outscored Lebanon 40-22 in the second and third quarters.
Sophomore Jordan Wersinger and senior Laura Vierkant scored 11 and 10 points respectively during that span.
“We want to get the pace of play up and if turnovers happen that’s great,” said Pendergrass. “Early on we fouled a little too much and slowed the game down. Creating turnovers is a plus but really it’s about getting the pace of play up and when we do that we play better.”
Junior Lebanon guard Kelsey Winfrey, who has been the team’s leading scorer in each of her first three seasons, played despite battling a stomach virus.
The illness, coupled with constant attention from the Kickapoo defense, held Winfrey scoreless for the first time in her career.
Pendergrass praised the effort of sophomore Leah Vokolek on the defensive end. Vokolek drew the assignment of stop one of the area’s most explosive scorers for much of the night.
“Leah is relentless,” said Pendergrass. “She works so hard and is so intense; she’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever coach and ever seen. Tenacity is another word that comes to mind. She’s a gritty player, you can use all those words and I’m still not sure it’s doing her justice. She brings a lot to our defense. We had great rotations as well.”
In addition to Sanders’ 22 points, Wersinger finished with 15 and Vierkant added 13. Senior Mikalyn Callahan led Lebanon with 15 points. Classmate Morgan Andersen added 11.
Both teams will hit the floor again on Monday in OC play with Lebanon visiting Glendale and Kickapoo hosting Hillcrest.
Kickapoo 69, Lebanon 40
Kickapoo 17-18-22-12 – 69
Lebanon 7-14-8-11 – 40
Kickapoo: Sanders 22, Wersinger 15, Vierkant 13, Acuff 8, Warren 6, Collins 3, Stephens 2.
Lebanon: Callahan 13, Andersen 11, Myers 4, O’Connor 4, Offutt 8.
