Dec. 21 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. 14 POWER RANKINGS
DEC. 7 POWER RANKINGS
NOV. 28 POWER RANKINGS

1. Strafford (7-0, C3, LW: 1)

The Indians got a bit of a challenge from Class 4 Rogersville this week in a 65-57 win. That was the first time all season Strafford had a game decided by single-digits. That final is actually pretty consistent with Strafford’s games against Rogersville over the past two seasons, with Strafford now 4-0 with a win differential of +6.5 in those matchups. Strafford also topped Springfield Catholic, 56-40. This is Strafford’s best start in over a decade. They’ll face Hillcrest in Round 1 of the Pink & White tournament.

This week: 12/27 Pink & White Tournament

2. Skyline (7-0, C1, LW: 3)

Skyline went two Classes up and ran over Class 4 Webb City (5-3), 69-38, then handed previously undefeated Class 2 Adrian (7-1) an 82-32 loss. Nice! That 50-point win over Adrian was the closest final for Skyline in three games against fellow Class 2 opponents this season. Overall, the Tigers are winning by an average of 46 points(!) with the 31-point win over Webb City being their tightest game. Skyline gets Class 5 Springfield Central (1-6) to open the Pink & White tournament.

This week: 12/27 Pink & White Tournament

3. Walnut Grove (7-1, C1, LW: 2)

The drop from the No. 2 spot to the three for the Tigers has nothing to do with Walnut Grove and everything to do with Skyline. (If it makes you feel better, think of it as a tie for second!). The Grove had an important win this week over previously undefeated Class 1 Wheatland (9-1), 58-42. The Mules were within one point (37-36) of the Tigers in the third quarter before Walnut Grove finished the game on a 21-6 run. Bayley Harman went for 30 in that win. Currently in the midst of their own tournament, the Tigers face Class 2 Verona (4-4) in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

This week: 12/22 Walnut Grove Tournament

4. Kickapoo (7-2, C5, LW: 3)

A 78-51 win over Nixa for the Chiefs this week doesn’t really pop on the schedule, but the way they did it was important. Kickapoo was without second-leading scorer Jordan Wersinger and Ari Acuff and had to battle through Jordan Sanders spending the majority of the night in foul trouble. Instead of folding, Hannah Collins stepped up with a career-high 29 points and Sanders managed to contribute 23 in limited action in the win. Kickapoo’s win over Republic was equally as impressive, with the Chiefs pulling away from the Tigers in a 67-46 win. That 21-point differential was the biggest for the Chiefs in a win over Republic since a 52-29 road win on Dec. 21, 2009. Kickapoo opens the Pink & White tournament against Mount Vernon (4-2) on Dec. 27.

This week: 12/27 Pink & White Tournament

5. Carl Junction (7-0, C4, LW: 5)
Listen, it’s easy to get on Carl Junction for their schedule. (CJ’s opponents are a combined 18-33 and none are above .500). But these girls are playing the course in front of them and are kind of making it look foolish. After a 40-18 win over Galena and a 44-11 win over Joplin this week, they’re now giving up just 18.6 points per game this season while scoring 48.9 per game. That’s a +30 differential. The Bulldogs are doing exactly what you want them to do against lesser opponents, and that’s absolutely dominating them on the defensive end.

This week: N/A

6. Rogersville (7-2, C4, LW: 8)

The Wildcats gave Strafford a bit of a scare this week, losing 65-57 to the undefeated defending Class 3 state champs. That’s really not a surprise, not only because of how Rogersville has been playing this season (its only other loss was 50-43 to Class 5 Lebanon), but because of how the ‘Cats have played Strafford of late (0-4 over the past three seasons, but losing by an average of just 6.5 points). LogRog finally got love in the state rankings last week, making its debut at No. 9. The only area team in C4 ranked higher? No. 1 Carl Junction. Unfortunately, that’s not a matchup we’d have the pleasure of seeing before state sectionals. A matchup we will have the pleasure of seeing, however, is one with Class 3 Clever (5-3) in the Pink & White Tournament on Tuesday.

This week: Dec. 27 Pink & White Tournament

7. Norwood (8-0, C2, LW: 7)

Just a single game this week for Norwood, easily winning over Seymour in its first league game of the season, 68-29. The Pirates jumped to No. 3 in last week’s state rankings. They won’t play again until Jan. 3, 2017 against Morrisville.

This week: N/A

8. Thayer (10-0, C2, LW: 14)

Thayer makes the jump into the Top 10 after an impressive win over Class 4 Salem—previously a state-ranked team—on Monday. The Bobcats hounded Salem defensively, forcing double-digit turnovers and pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 68-56 win. Julie Stone (17.3 PPG) was phenomenal in that fourth quarter, scoring 16 of her 29 points, but this was a team effort. First-year head coach Cecil Meyer said he’s put a focus on putting pride back into this program, and the pride is clearly there. This is a confident, quick, turnover-inducing team.

This week: N/A

9. Purdy (7-1, C2, LW: 9)
In its only game this week, the Eagles eased by the team with the craziest-looking mascot in Missouri, beating Verona, 73-52. Purdy is off until a matchup with Jasper on Jan. 5, 2017. They enter Christmas break with their only loss coming by three points against Class 1 No. 1 Walnut Grove.

This week: N/A

10. Wheatland (9-1, C1, LW: 6)

The Mules went into a tough environment at Class 1 No. 1 Walnut Grove and fell, 58-42. The drop in the rankings was inevitable, but that game was closer than the score appears. The Mules were down double-digits early and managed to pull within 37-36 despite losing Ashley Horton to a knee injury early in the second quarter. Head coach Jerimiah Bryan said he thinks that injury is an MCL or ACL. No new word on Horton’s health, but her availability, or lack thereof, will be key to Wheatland’s chances the rest of the season. Bryan said he thinks his girls can compete with Walnut Grove for four quarters with a healthy Horton. They beat Morrisville, 62-39, in their only other game this week.

This week: N/A

11. Clever (5-3, C3, LW: 10)

Three in a row now for the Lady Jays after that 2-3 start. Clever beat a pair of Class 3 teams this week in East Newton (5-6), 68-42, and Seneca (4-5), 60-44. Interesting matchup to open up the Pink & White tournament against C4 No. 9 Rogersville on Dec. 27.

This week: 12/27 Pink & White Tournament

12. Licking (7-1, C3, LW: 11)
It was a week of rest for Licking this week. We’ll see if that rest helps or hurts the Ladycats as they get back at it in the Mountain Grove tournament against Class 1 Dora (2-3) on Dec. 27.

This week: 12/26 Mountain Grove Tournament

13. Hermitage (7-1, C1, LW: 12)
A trio of wins over sub-par Class 1 teams for Hermitage this week, but the Lady Hornets didn’t have any letdowns, so they can’t be faulted for the schedule. Those three wins (over Dadeville, Exeter and Lakeland) came by an average of 22.3 points. Hermitage’s only blemish remains a six-point defeat to last week’s Class 1 No. 6 Wheatland. They get a tough matchup with Class 2 Hartville (7-3) in the Walnut Grove Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

This week: 12/22 Walnut Grove Tournament

14. Gainesville (6-0, C2, LW: NR)

When you lose your head coach and three starters, one of whom being 2,000-point scorer Madison Strong, a bit of a step back is to be expected. But so far, there hasn’t been one down in Gainesville. The Bulldogs are now 80-10-1 dating back through the 2013-14 season, and while the previous three were with Strong around, it may be that the talent pool runs deep still. The Bulldogs are beating opponents by an average of 33.5 points per game. The problem? Only two of their six wins have come against teams over .500 (66-37 over 7-2 C2 Fordland. 64-45 over 5-4 C3 Willow Springs). Given a No. 4 state ranking last week in Class 2 to go with a No. 1 seed in next week’s Mountain Grove tournament, we’re about to find out if Gainesville is for real.

This week: 12/26 Mountain Grove tournament

15. Ozark (6-2, C5, LW: 13)
Ozark beat Class 4 No. 10 West Plains (4-3), 61-54, in only its second game against a non-Arkansas-based team this season. Its other game this week came against Fayetteville (Ark.) (8-2), an 81-56 loss. We’ll learn a lot more about the Tigers in this week’s Pink & White Tournament, where they’re in as the No. 3 seed and will face C5 Camdenton (6-2) in Round 1.

This week: 12/27 Pink & White Tournament

Keep an Eye On: C5 Lebanon (5-1), C2 Spokane (8-0), C2 Hartville (7-3), C2 Newburg (6-1), C2 Miller (5-2), C5 Branson (6-0), C2 Alton (7-4), C3 Fair Grove (6-2)