By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Below are the first regular season CoxHealth basketball power rankings for the area.
NOTE: THESE ARE BASED ON DOMINANCE BY CLASS, NOT HEAD-TO-HEAD. THIS IS A POUND-FOR-POUND RANKING.
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1. Strafford (C3: 7-0)
At this point you can just pencil them in at this spot. The Lady Indians already own wins over Class 1 No. 1 Walnut Grove, Republic, Catholic and Class 3 runner-up Lutheran South. Their average margin of victory so far has been 45.7 points, with is about 15 more points than they allow per game. They’re the No. 2 seed in the Pink and White Lady Classic.
2. Skyline (C2: 8-0)
The Lady Tigers have now won 28 straight games and 23 have come by 20 points or more including all eight games this season. Skyline already has wins over Class 4’s Marshfield and Webb City, as well as Class 2 runner-up Adrian. Kevin Cheek and company will be a 2-seed in the Pink and White Lady Classic.
3. Walnut Grove (C1: 6-1)
The decision to schedule up hasn’t really cost Walnut Grove any wins. The Lady Tigers have already beaten Class 2 Purdy and Crane, as well as drilling Pittsburg (Kan.) over the weekend. They get Ozark this week and are the No. 1 seed in the Walnut Grove Tournament.
4. Carl Junction (C4: 9-0)
Carl Junction is again doing what they do best under Brad Shorter, which is win. The Lady Bulldogs have only had one game not decided by at least 10 points. CJ is yet to allow an opponent to score more than 35 points, seven times the opposing team has failed to even score 30. CJ isn’t in a holiday tournament, so they’ll play just two games in the next three weeks.
5. Branson (C5: 6-0)
The Lady Pirates are off to a perfect start and will likely enter the Pink and White Lady Classic with an undefeated record. Sophomore Priscilla Williams is averaging 35 PPG for a Branson offense that has scored at least 60 points in five of six games this season.
6. Fair Grove (C3: 7-0)
Fair Grove could legitimately win every other conference in the Ozarks, but sharing a league with the defending Class 3 and Class 2 state champs makes that difficult. The Lady Eagles have been impressive, racking up wins over Rogersville, Clever and Mount Vernon in their first seven games. Junior Alana Findley has four double-doubles already, including a 20-20 performance against Mount Vernon.
7. Blue Eye (C2: 7-1)
Speaking of dominant, Blue Eye continues to be one of the biggest storylines of the season. No Missouri school has finished a game within single digits of Blue Eye, which includes Class 4s Cassville and Reeds Spring, as well as solid programs Spokane and Fordland. The Lady Bulldogs are a 6-seed in their first Pink and White Lady Classic experience.
8. Thayer (C2: 5-0)
Thayer has picked up right where it left off last season and everyone else out East is playing catchup. The crazy part is it doesn’t seem like things will change any time soon. They’re the top seed in the Mountain Grove Tournament and are likely a month away from a competitive game.
9. Licking (C3: 8-0)
Licking rolled through the Frisco League Tournament, defending their top seed, and they haven’t stopped beating people since. Sophomore point guard Karlee Holland is averaging 22.1 points and 4.5 assists for Licking, who will see Class 5 Lindbergh followed by Class 5s Waynesville or Smith-Cotton in the first two rounds of the Rolla Tournament.
10. Kickapoo (C5: 7-1)
When Jordan Wersinger tore her ACL it seemed like Kickapoo could be in for a tough rebuild, but that’s hardly been the case. The Lady Chiefs have won six straight, which includes knocking off previously unbeaten Nixa and two wins over state-ranked Jeff City. Poo’s lone loss came to state-ranked Lee’s Summit West.
11. Nixa (C5: 4-1)
Coach Perryman and company have had quite the start to the 2017-18 season with wins over Jeff City and Waynesville. Nixa won the Stephanie Phillips but has since lost to Kickapoo at home. The Lady Eagles have a tough Pink and White Lady Classic draw, with possibly seeing rival Ozark in the quarterfinals.
12. Mount Vernon (C3: 5-1)
Few teams score it as easily as Mount Vernon does, which is why they’ve averaging nearly 68 PPG and have turbo clocked four opponents already. The road loss at Fair Grove clearly isn’t a bad one and that was a three-point game in the fourth quarter. That result is more about how good Grove is. Still, MV is one of the best Class 3 teams in Missouri.
13. Clever (C3: 5-2)
Clever is one of several extremely good Class 3 teams in the area. The Lady Jays have beaten Catholic and West Plains already and the losses to Fair Grove and Fayetteville (Ark.) came in competitive games. It’s tough to hold either defeat against them too much. We’ll learn a lot more about them in the Pink and White Lady Classic.
14. Pierce City (C2: 4-1)
Since a six-point, season-opening loss to Cassville, Pierce City has bounced back with four straight wins, tallying a 26.3 average margin of victory. Pierce City will be busy over the next three weeks. They’re the 2-seed in the Walnut Grove Tournament, where they could see Fordland and the host Lady Tigers.
15. Bolivar (C4: 6-1)
The only team that has been able to get the best of the Lady Libs is undefeated Branson. Bolivar has played a few out of area games, but has yet to really be tested outside of the Branson game. Bolivar will see Clever in the first round of the Pink and White Lady Classic, which is the best game of Day 1.
Knockin’ on the Door: Fordland (C2: 6-1), Gainesville (C2: 5-0), Camdenton (C5: 4-2), Ozark (C5: 4-2), Hartville (C2: 5-1), Lamar (C3: 5-1), Lockwood (C2: 5-1), Miller (C2: 6-1), Hermitage (C1: 5-0), Bradleyville (C1: 3-2), Cassville (C4: 4-1), Willard (C5: 5-1), Rogersville (C4: 4-3)Â
