Every program in Missouri has dreams of playing basketball into the month of March and making a trip to Columbia for spring break. Four local programs have turned that dream into a reality and nearly each one can be considered the favorite to bring home a state championship in their respective class. Two are looking to continue their dynasty with a fourth consecutive state championship, one is one of the most decorated programs in state history and one is a program on the verge of greatness.
Strafford (28-3)
1st Final Four appearance
Coached by Steve Frank
Strafford state championships won: 0
Strafford walks into a loaded Final Four situation; all four teams have at least 25 wins and a combined nine losses. Semifinal opponent St. Pius X was ranked No. 9 in the final state polls, but has 6-foot-2 Missouri State commit Abby Hipp leading the way. Hipp (14.5 PPG, 10 RPG, 4 APG,2 BPG) is one of the best players in Missouri, and her point guard Antoinette Mussorici (13.6 PPG) isn’t bad either. But, Strafford owns one of the top 1-2 punches in the Ozarks with freshman Hayley Frank (20 PPG, 11 RPG, 4 APG) and junior guard Abby Oliver (19 PPG). Frank is going to have a chance to be the best female basketball player to come out of the Ozarks in the last decade and she’ll likely own every major record at Strafford by the time she’s done. She can score at all three levels, she rebounds, she facilitates and she’s a Duke fan; what’s not to like? Oliver is no slouch either. We’ve seen the 5-foot-6 point guard progress from a good player to an elite player in the area and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better scoring guard. Her quickness and ability to handle the basketball, along with a quick release, makes you have to defender her for 84 feet. This is Strafford’s first Final Four appearance in program history, but Pius hasn’t been there recently either. The biggest key for the Lady Indians is the strength of their supporting cast. Strafford has four players averaging between 5.3-7.5 PPG, with sophomore Zoey Mullings (7.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG) and freshman Kayley Frank (7.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG) providing additional scoring pop, with seniors Kaylee Larimer (6.9 PPG) and Logan Eden (5.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG) bringing athleticism and leadership. This team is scary good when firing on all cylinders, especially when they are engaged defensively. Coach Frank has his team playing at a pace that not many people can sustain for four quarters and few are truly capable of scoring with the Lady Indians. The Frank/Hipp matchup will likely bring a fair share of D-1 coaches from the Midwest to watch this game. Booneville and Saxony Lutheran will battle it out in the other semifinal. Booneville is 59-2 in the last two seasons, making back-to-back Final Four trips and Lutheran made a Final Four trip in 2014 and knocked off defending state champ Park Hills Central in the quarterfinals last week. Lutheran's group of seniors, led by Bri Mueller (16.6 PPG; 1,794 career points) has won four straight district championships and racked up a 105-12 record. Let’s not forget that two of Strafford’s three losses came to Crane and Kickapoo, two teams that very well may be state champions when all is said and done; the Lady Indians won’t be blown away by anything they see on the court this weekend because of who they’ve played already. Not to mention Strafford has beaten Branson, Skyline, Fair Grove and Lebanon this season. Strafford will have its hands full this weekend, but the Lady Indians will certainly have their chance to win a state championship.
NOTE: Hayley Frank will finish with a top 10 all-time single-season scoring mark for a freshman. Her 68% field goal percentage is unofficially the seventh best in state history. She’s also on pace to finish with a top 10 single-season free throw percentage for a player that has at least 100 attempts (87%).
Crane (29-1) – Skyline (27-4)
Crane: 5th Final Four appearance – Skyline: 12th Final Four appearance
Crane coach by Jeremy Mullins – Skyline coached by Kevin Cheek
Crane state championships won: 3 – Skyline state championships won: 5
Crane and Skyline… again. This will be the fourth straight Final Four that these two have met. The Lady Pirates have taken the previous three meetings by 19, 15 and seven. Last year Skyline gave Crane two really good games, beating them in the Pink and White Lady Classic before the 58-51 loss in the Class 2 state title game. There is no shortage of motivation on either side. For Crane, it’s finishing a goal and maybe a stretch that is unlikely to be duplicated again in program history with 121 wins and three straight state championships coming into the weekend. Of course there’s also the emotional aspect for this accomplished group of seniors that has been playing together since they were little (some of them haven’t grown since then) and have turned Crane into the best program in Missouri. The crazy part is Crane owns wins over Republic and Kickapoo, two teams that are still alive and the favorites in Class 5, as well as Strafford. It doesn’t end there. Valley Springs (Ark.) will play for a 3A title this weekend, Gainesville went unbeaten against teams not named Crane, Hillcrest was a Class 4 district champion and St. James made it to the Class 3 quarterfinals; they all lost to Crane. For Skyline, it is pure revenge. It is probably safe to say that there is a good chance Skyline would be back-to-back Class 3 state champions had they not moved down to Class 2 in 2012-13. The Lady Tigers did beat Crane in the regular season last year, but I’m sure they would trade that win for a state title. All year Skyline has been the forgotten team in Class 2, especially following the loss to Gainesville, with everyone overlooking them for state title talk. What better way to announce your presence in Columbia than to beat Crane in Thursday’s semifinal? This is Skyline’s 12th Final Four in program history, but the Lady Tigers haven’t won a state championship since 2008. However, their five state titles are tied with Kickapoo and Rock Bridge for the third most in state history; no program from the Ozarks has more. On the court, this matchup feels a little different than previous meetings. The loss of Emma Lander, who averaged 18.6 PPG and 9.3 RPG against Skyline in Columbia, will be huge. Junior Madison Fulp has helped fulfill that void and it looks very similar to the way Lander did it, but this game will be won and lost on the perimeter. It’s no secret that Skyline struggles to score and it’s also no secret that Crane has the ability to lockup on the perimeter better than anyone else in the area. With seniors Lexie Vaught (15.2 PPG), Kylee Moore (12 PPG), Justeen Mahan (10.9 PPG) and the continued growth (as a player, not literally) of Shelby Roder, the Lady Pirates have several options to go to. Skyline relies heavily on sophomore guard Kaylee DaMitz (14.7 PPG) and junior lefty McKinsey Mountain (13.4 PPG), but outside of those two Skyline struggles to score consistently. Crane is excellent at taking away what you want to do offensively and last year they forced DaMitz into one of the worst games of her career (2-for-17 shooting, four turnovers). DaMitz vs. Roder will be one of the more entertaining matchups you’ll see with DaMitz being one of the best penetrators and Roder being the best on-ball defender in the Ozarks. Mountain gave Crane fits last year (11 points, six rebounds in 13 minutes) but foul trouble limited her. As a freshman she scored nine points against Crane in just 12 minutes. But as a team the Lady Tigers shot just 29% from the field in last year’s meeting, including 5-for-19 from 3 and 12-for-21 from the line. This Crane team is too good at both ends to try to win this game in the 30s or 40s, Skyline will need to get close to or break 50 to win this game. Big picture, this is the state championship game. Both of these teams will win their second game of the weekend regardless of if it’s in the championship or third place game. There is a silver lining for Skyline. With five of its top six scorers back, the Lady Tigers will be the favorite to win it all next year in what should be their fifth straight Final Four trip.
NOTE: Lexie Vaught unofficially has the MSHSAA career record for career starts with 128. The previous record was 125 by Heather Harman. Vaught will finish her career with 130 games played. Only Laura Arnold has played in more career games (131). She’s also unofficially in the top 10 all-time for career steals and her final total this year will also be a top 10 single-season mark.
Walnut Grove (22-9)
7th Final Four appearance
Coached by Rory Henry
State championships won: 4
BREAKING NEWS: Rory Henry has guided Walnut Grove back to the Class 1 Final Four and he has a Harman on his team. No, it’s not exactly a new thing at Walnut Grove, but this is certainly the most surprising of his five straight Final Four teams. On second thought, is it? Henry has proven the ability to put his kids in a position to be successful, regardless of if it’s playing fullcourt pressure defense or if it is grinding out halfcourt wins, which has become the new normal. He also typically has the two best players on the court each time they play in sophomore guard Bayley Harman (20.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 3.8 SPG) and junior post Raylie Hejna (15.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.7 BPG). This helps make up for back-to-back loaded senior classes that have been at the core of one of the best runs in state history. If we are being honest, Walnut Grove has been disrespected in the state polls all year; how in the world does a team that hasn’t lost a game to a Class 1 team in nearly five years not the top-ranked team? On top of that, five of WG’s losses came by six points or less, with two more coming by seven and eight points respectively. If you evaluate this team objectively in comparison with the rest of Class 1 it is impossible to make a justification that they shouldn’t be the No. 1 team in Missouri. That’s neither here nor there as Walnut Grove will get to settle that this weekend. The Lady Tigers and No. 2 Mound City are the only state-ranked teams in Columbia this week, however Walnut Grove’s semifinal opponent is Naylor, the same team the Lady Tigers beat in last year’s state championship game, 48-45. Naylor brings back 6-foot-1 sophomore Callee Pickrell, who struggled in last year’s championship with just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting and five turnovers, while Hejna scored a game-high 17, but Pickrell has been a load this year. Also back is Kabrien Rogers, who had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Naylor in last year’s meeting. Naylor is one of the few teams with the size to matchup with Walnut Grove. Another state championship would tie the MSHSAA record for consecutive state titles, bringing the Lady Tigers into a tie with Marshfield (1988-91), Northeast Nodaway (1976-79), St. Joseph’s Academy (1991-94) and Rock Bridge (2012-15), with Crane and Incarnate Word having a chance to equal that number this year as well. As it stands, Class 1,2, 4 and 5 have had the same state champions for the last three years.
