Dec. 14 Girls Basketball Power Rankings

By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer

Each week, OzarksSportsZone.com will release local girls basketball power rankings. Like our other power rankings, these rankings will be based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head matchups.

Recent success and strength of schedule are also factored into the rankings. These rankings are through games played on Dec. 13.

Overall record, Class and last week’s ranking are listed in parenthesis.

DEC. 7 POWER RANKINGS
NOV. 28 POWER RANKINGS

1. Strafford (5-0, C3, LW: 1)

Strafford, awarded the No. 2 seed in the Pink & White Tournament Pink Bracket, has had a chance to rest up a bit since its Ash Grove tournament championship on Dec. 3, only playing once since. But that one game was against Clever on the road. On paper, Clever could have been a Class 3 opponent that could push Strafford a little bit, but the Indians won going away, 62-43. (That 19-point win was the first time Strafford hasn’t won by at least 24 points). Strafford has some pretty good challenges this week against Class 3 Springfield Catholic and a hot Class 4 Rogersville team.

This week: 12/15 Springfield Catholic (3-2), 12/19 Rogersville (6-1)

2. Walnut Grove (5-1, C1, LW: 3)

Walnut Grove jumps Kickapoo this week after a big win over a Class 2 Purdy (6-1) team ranked No. 6 in Class 2. Bayley Harman was fantastic in that game, scoring 37 of Walnut Grove’s 61 points in the 61-58 win. Grove’s only loss this season is against Strafford. Huge statement Class 1 game coming Thursday against undefeated Class 1 Wheatland (8-0).

This week: 12/15 Wheatland (8-0), 12/17 Walnut Grove Tournament

3. Kickapoo (5-2, C5, LW: 2)
The Chiefs dropped from No. 1 to No. 8 in last week’s Class 5 state rankings after their losses to Washington (C5 No. 3) and Jefferson City (C5 No. 4). Maybe it’s because I’m new around here, but that seems a little drastic for a pair of early season losses that came by seven and six points, respectively. Even so, this week’s games made it a little tough to judge the Chiefs with two coming against out-of-state opponents in Rogers, Ark. (a 67-54 win) and Olathe East, Kan. (a 66-49 win). Kickapoo also handled Aurora, 89-32. All three games came in the Gold Division of the Stephanie Phillips Classic. Good tests this week against Nixa and Republic.

This week: 12/15 Nixa (4-2), 12/19 Republic (4-2)

4. Skyline (5-0, C2, LW: 4)

Still tops in the state in Class 2, the Tigers stay put after easily beating Class 3 Warsaw, 71-16, and Buffalo, 73-39. Going up a Class and winning by that many is always good, but Warsaw and Buffalo aren’t the toughest of opponents this year, combining for a 5-10 record. Things get seemingly tougher this week with road trips to Class 4 Webb City (5-2) and undefeated Class 2 Adrian (6-0).

This week: 12/15 @Webb City (5-2), 12/17 Adrian (6-0)

5. Carl Junction (5-0, C4, LW: 5)
The Bulldogs hosted a pair of Kansas teams this week in Pittsburg and Frontenac, easily winning both, 60-30 and 56-17, respectively. The 30 points put up by Pitt was the first time all season a team has scored more than 19 against Carl Junction. Naturally, the Bulldogs got back on track by holding Frontenac to 17. This defense is giving up just 20.2 points per game, which is pretty amazing. Busy four-game week coming up. Keep an eye on a Dec. 20 matchup with Class 2 Purdy.

This week: 12/15 Galena, Kan. (3-1), 12/17 Bentonville, Ark. (3-2), 12/19 Joplin (0-5), 12/20 Purdy (6-1)

6. Wheatland (8-0, C1, LW: 7)
Wheatland now has two in-season tournament championships under its belt after taking the Hermitage tournament crown with a 65-59 win over host Hermitage (4-1). The Lady Mules beat Fair Play (6-3) in the Hermitage tourney semis, 78-48. Those two wins are important, as Wheatland will likely see both in its district tournament. Thursday’s game against Walnut Grove will be a good barometer of just how high on this list Wheatland deserves to be.

This week: 12/15 @Walnut Grove (5-1), 12/19 Morrisville (2-4)

7. Norwood (7-0, C2, LW: 15)

Biggest jump of the week goes to the Pirates. Not sure Norwood can really be ignored anymore. They jumped from No. 6 to No. 4 in last week’s Class 2 state rankings and followed that up with a 53-41 statement win over Class 2 No. 5 Hartville, a team that opened the season at No. 2 in the state. That win over Hartville gave Norwood the Norwood tournament title. The Pirates also beat Plato in that tournament, 57-54, and beat Class 3 Mountain Grove (5-3), 61-25.

This week: 12/15 @Houston (1-4), 12/19 @Seymour (1-6)

8. Rogersville (6-1, C4, LW: 14)

Why not Rogersville? I talked last week about the Wildcats impressing early with wins over C2 Mansfield, C3 Fair Grove and C4 West Plains. All of those wins have come without Sarah Jordan, perhaps the team’s best player. Jordan is still out with an injury (but has slowly begun practicing again), and Rogersville is still winning. The Wildcats got no love in last week’s state rankings despite the win over West Plains (the Zizzers are still ranked No. 7 in Class 4). Rogersville responded by going out and beating Class 5 Willard (3-2), 52-37, and a Class 2 Hartville team ranked No. 5 in its class, 51-29. The Wildcats travel to Class 3 No. 1 Strafford on Monday, the ultimate test of all ultimate tests.

This week: 12/16 Crane (1-6), 12/19 @Strafford (5-0)

9. Purdy (6-1, C2, LW: 8)
The Lady Eagles nearly took down Class 1 No. 1 Walnut Grove last week, falling 61-58. Purdy followed that loss with a win over a down Crane team, 67-57, and a surprising upstart in Miller, 62-52. Layne Skiles (19.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG), Rion Boyd (11.9 PPG) and Sami House (10.7 PPG) have been very consistent, with each showing the ability to lead Purdy’s offense on any given night. Big road test against Class 4 No. 2 Carl Junction on Tuesday.

This week: @Verona (3-3), 12/20 @Carl Junction (5-0)

10. Clever (3-3, C3, LW: 6)

Strafford asserted its Class 3 dominance over Clever this week in a 19-point, 62-43 win. For now, I still like Clever over Licking, in part due to strength of schedule. Licking has played tough opponents, but Clever’s losses have come against Class 5 Lebanon, Class 4 Rogersville and Class 3 Strafford. That Strafford loss came this week, 62-43, and the 19-point deficit was actually the closest anyone has played Strafford this season. (That honor previously went to Lebanon, which lost 83-59 to Strafford). Clever beat Ash Grove this week, 76-56.

This week: 12/15 East Newton (4-5), 12/19 @Seneca (4-3)

11. Licking (7-1, C3, LW: 11)
Class 2 Richland upset Licking this week in a bit of an odd game, 35-32. Odd because this is a Licking team that has scored between 52 and 73 points in every other game this season. Richland has been good but probably isn’t better than Licking. However, Richland has held opponents to 29.9 points per game this year. But, while they know how to play good defense, it’s still a little concerning that Licking fell victim to a team that has fallen to better Class 2 teams in Newburg and Plato (teams that Licking beat). Licking escaped Class 3 Cuba, 57-56, and beat Class 3 Ava, 52-37, this week. For now, I still believe the Licking team that beat Ava and won the Frisco League tournament with wins over Newburg and Plato to get itself to a No. 9 state ranking in Class 3 is the Licking team to focus on. They’re off until the Mountain Grove tournament on Dec. 26.

This week: N/A

12. Hermitage (4-1, C1, LW: 12)
I still like the Hornets at No. 12 despite the 65-59 loss to undefeated Wheatland. That six-point differential is the closest anyone has played Wheatland this season. Sadi Hostettler had 16 points and 13 rebounds in that loss, and Hermitage has three starters averaging double figures in Hostettler (17.0 PPG), Makayla Hostettler (12.5 PPG) and Sheridan Corum (11.0 PPG). Beyond the Wheatland loss, Hermitage put up a pair of wins over Macks Creek, 51-39, and Humansville, 63-33. This week’s Walnut Grove tournament will be a good test.

This week: 12/16 Dadeville (4-4), 12/17 Walnut Grove tournament, 12/20 Lakeland (5-1)

13. Ozark (4-1, C5, LW: 13)
A 61-42 loss to the defending Arkansas 3A state champion Valley Springs Tigers (15-1) isn’t exactly something to knock these Tigers for. However, Ozark is a little tough to judge right now in our dominance-by-Class ranking system with four of their five games having come against Arkansas teams. Even so, Mikayla Putt, Madi Braden and Morgan Doyle have looked good so far. There’s some intrigue to be had in this week’s game with last week’s Class 4 No. 7 West Plains, but after that, Ozark will have a hiatus until the Pink & White tournament after Christmas.

This week: 12/15 @West Plains (4-2)

14. Thayer (7-0, C2, LW: NR)
Thayer makes its first appearance in the rankings after three more blowout wins this week, beating Koshkonong, Couch and Bakersfield by an average of 35 points. The Bobcats (shoutout for sharing a mascot with my and KSPR weekend anchor Justin Sampson’s beloved alma mater, Ohio University!) have been making coaches take notice as well, moving up to No. 7 in last week’s Class 2 rankings after beginning the season unranked. Notable wins this year have come over Alton, 55-53, and Class 2 No. 10 Van Buren, 53-44. The latter win there clinched the Van Buren tourney title for Thayer back on Dec. 3. Big game to keep an eye on this week is a matchup with last week’s Class 4 No. 8 team, Salem.

This week: 12/18 Koshkonong (0-4), 12/19 Salem (3-1)

15. Hartville (4-3, C2, LW: 9)
Hartville was hit pretty hard by Class 2 Norwood this week, falling 53-41. The Eagles also were felled by hard-charging Class 4 Rogersville, 51-29. The Eagles entered the season at No. 2 in Class 2 in the state rankings, and as of last week, were still sitting at No. 5. They may drop a little more this week, but really haven’t had a chance to prove themselves against good in-Class competition outside of Norwood. They will get to do that this week, however, facing Plato before participating in the Walnut Grove tournament.

This week: 12/15 Plato (4-4), 12/17 Walnut Grove Tournament, 12/19 Crocker (1-5)

Keeping an Eye On: Lebanon (4-1), Spokane (6-0), Salem (3-1), Gainesville (5-0), West Plains (4-2), Nixa (4-2), Plato (4-4), Newburg (6-1), Miller (5-2), Branson (6-0), Alton (6-4)