By Jordan Burton
District basketball kicked off with quarterfinal games on Saturday. Here is what follow this week.
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This is what Walnut Grove does
Regardless of the Harman running the show, Walnut Grove has made a tradition of winning district championships. Six straight district titles and five consecutive Final Four appearances have added to one of the best basketball traditions in Missouri and Rory Henry has a group that could add the program’s fifth state championship in the last six seasons. That’s crazy to even think about, but the resume is there. The Lady Tigers are currently ranked No. 4 in Class 1 which is a bit of a joke considering their losses are to Class 3 Strafford (state-ranked), Class 3 Springfield Catholic, Class 2 Gainesville (state-ranked) and Class 2 Pierce City. Furthermore, Walnut Grove beat Class 1 No. 2 Wheatland (58-42) and Class 2 No. 7 Purdy (61-58). Senior Raylie Hejna is again the best post player in Class 1 (15.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.8 SPG). This is the best team in Class 1 right now and wins in 15 of their last 17 games prove that they are heating up at the right time. I would be shocked if this team wasn’t playing for a state championship come March.
The “other” Polk County League programs eager to make a run
This is the most competitive the PCL has been at the top in more than a decade with three different teams find their way into the state polls this years. No, Walnut Grove isn’t the only team capable of making a trip to Columbia and the best shot for anyone to knock off the Lady Tigers might lie right next door with Wheatland and Hermitage.
You can’t argue with what the Lady Mules have done this season. Wins over Class 1 No. 5 Leeton and Class 2 Richland and Verona are extremely impressive. Wheatland also managed to split with Hermitage and beat a solid Fair Play team four times. But, after losing to Walnut Grove in Sectionals last year and returning nearly everyone from that team, the goal is a Final Four trip. No Class 1 team has been as competitive against Walnut Grove as Wheatland was this year and the fact that game was play in December certainly bodes well for the Lady Mules. Wheatland played without senior Ashley Horton in that game and dug itself a an early 10-0 deficit. That was the epitome of an inexperienced Wheatland team seeing a veteran Walnut Grove group that has been through the wars. Sophomore standout Madi Sutt was held to just 16 points which is a calm night for her, while Walnut Grove junior Bayley Harman dropped 30; 22 of which came in the first 16 minutes. The case can be made that Wheatland is the second-best Class 1 team in Missouri right now and a potential quarterfinal matchup could end up being the Class 1 state championship.
But Hermitage may have something to say about the potential clash of top-5 teams. The Lady Hornets are just two days removed from beating Wheatland on the road, 61-55. It’s not like that game was a fluke, Hermitage can play, averaging 20 wins a year for the last three seasons. All six of this year’s losses came against teams that are currently state-ranked or were ranked at the time of the game, including Class 2 power Skyline. The fact that Hermitage split two games with Wheatland makes the likely third meeting even that much more intriguing. The total score of the first two games was 120-120 so clearly the teams couldn’t be any more evenly matched. Hermitage is also led by underclassmen with junior point guard Sheridan Corum (11.9 PPG, 5.7 APG, 2.5 SPG) and classmate Sadi Hostettler (13.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG) setting the tone. Hermitage has also received a boost from 5-foot-8 freshman Makayla Hostettler’s 13.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 3.1 SPG. This trio is good enough to push the Lady Hornets to a deep run.
Bradleyville heating up at the right time
Somehow the Lady Eagles still aren’t state-ranked, which doesn’t really matter because it hasn’t kept them from winning games – 13 straight right now. We’ll start with the losses, which are pretty quality. Class 3 Forsyth (14-10), Class 2 Blue Eye (20-4), Class 2 Norwood (23-3) and Class 2 Verona (15-11). Forsyth just played Clever to a four-point game, Blue Eye should win its district and Norwood was state-ranked for much of the season. Bradleyville did manage to beat Forsyth, Mansfield, Fordland and Chadwick… twice. The lone red flag in Bradleyville’s quest for a district championship is the fact that they’ll likely have to beat Chadwick for a third time, which is easier said than done. Still, the job that Autumn Thomas has done can’t be understated. This team is looking for back-to-back district championships for the first time in decades. The Lady Eagles have won 20 games for three straight seasons and will likely improve their win total for the fourth straight season under Thomas. This program was 12-34 in the two seasons before she took over. The best part is the bracket worked itself out in a way that Bradleyville could see the Walnut Grove/Wheatland/Hermitage winner in the Class 1 state championship game. As the kids say, that would be liiiiiit.
Bucketfest in Southwest Missouri
Everyone loves points and some of the best scorers in Southwest Missouri reside in Class 1. Here are a few that are still adding to their point total.
Bayley Harman, Walnut Grove
Is she the best Harman ever? Maybe. Even though her older sister that looks more like her twin might have an argument. The youngest Harman is killing the game (25.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.3 APG, 3.4 SPG, 1 BPG) and it’s coming efficiently; she’s shooting 52% from the field and 44% from 3. The 5-foot-9 junior is already well over 1,500 points and has a really good shot at ending her career as the highest-scoring Harman ever.
Kourtney Shipley, Bradleyville
I’m not sure how it’s possible, but a kid that has scored more than 1,500 points in her first three seasons of high school basketball is flying under the radar. Shipley (23.8 PPG, 5 APG, 3.8 SPG) picked up right where she left off last season and has only gotten better as the season progressed. She dropped 51 points in Bradleyville’s district-opening win against Lutie, her seventh 30-point game this season. She’s also knocked down 96 triples at nearly a 40% clip. With another strong supporting cast, she’s capable of helping the Lady Eagles get to CoMo.
Shelby Willis, Macks Creek
Willis is yet another junior that is already well past the 1,000-point mark. The 5-foot-5 guard leads Macks Creek in points (18.8 PPG) and steals (3.1 SPG). She’s already had four 30-point games. Her Lady Pirates won 18 games during the regular season and are very capable of snatching the District 7 title.
Octavia Lowery, Couch
Lowery has been one of the most productive 3-point shooters in the Ozarks over the last two seasons. As a junior she shot 51% from deep and she’s followed that up by canning 77 triples in her senior campaign. Her 19.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.2 SPG are the main reason the Lady Indians are a 20-win team. She’s scored 30-plus four times this year and has even had a game with a school-record 10 3s. She can shoot the lights out in a hurry.
Annie Swaters, Lakeland
Nearly 1,000 points in two seasons is good, right? This 5-foot-11 sophomore is one of the best players in Class 1 already. Swaters paces the Lady Vikings in points (20.1 PPG) and rebounds (8.3 RPG) this season, including five double-doubles and four 30-point games. Lakeland has just one senior, but if Swaters goes off this team will be a problem.
