By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Kickapoo compiled a 28-4 record last season, falling in the Class 5 state championship to Kirkwood 67-50.
By the time districts roll around this year, the Lady Chiefs might be even better.
Head coach Jim Pendergrass is once again blessed with a wealth of talent, size and speed within his program.
Gone are graduated seniors Jordan Wersinger and Hannah Collins.
Wersinger, a multi-dimensional point guard, departs with a career scoring average of 16.35 points per game, the highest in program history. She moves on to play basketball at Central Missouri State this winter.
Collins ended her career as Kickapoo’s No. 13 all-time scorer with 1,095 points.
Despite the loss of senior leadership, the cupboard is far from barren at Kickapoo.
Led by sophomores Chloe Merced (14.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Indya Green (11 ppg, 11.1 rpg), the Lady Chiefs will feature one of the tallest lineups in the area.
Classmates joining the 5-foot-10 Merced and 6-foot Green are 6-foot-1 Rachel Senn (4.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and 6-foot-2 Madie Barrett (4.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg).
Senior Natasha Whittet, junior Leah Fredrick (6.2 ppg) and junior Mia Thompson round out Kickapoo’s returning corps.
While you won’t find a bevy of upperclassmen on the roster, the Lady Chiefs have reloaded with an extremely strong group of newcomers.
Freshmen Kaylee Corbin, Macie Conway, Bella Fontleroy, Kylee Wilson and sophomore Allison Stephens will all look to challenge for playing time on a young varsity roster.
Fontleroy will have an immediate impact.
The 6-foot-2 Fontleroy features a game that’s extremely explosive and athletic. Fontleroy is capable of playing all five positions on the court and has already collected nearly a dozen division one offers.
“Our squad this year will be young with many Freshman and Sophomores playing key roles in the development of our team,” Pendergrass said, “This group has a high ceiling and a tremendous amount of room to grow throughout the season because we don’t have experience playing with each other.”
Kickapoo’s schedule will feature a host of challenges, both in and out of state.
In addition to the always-competitive Pink & White Lady Classic, the Lady Chiefs will travel to Arkansas for a pair of games against Conway and Fayetteville, and then to Kansas for the Pittsburg Tournament.
For Kickapoo to be successful and enjoy another postseason run, its defense will have to set the tone, according to Pendergrass.
“We must be really good on defense, take care of the basketball, out rebound our opponents and play incredibly hard,” Pendergrass said. “I’m excited to watch the development of this team.”
Following a jamboree with Parkview, Clever and Blue Eye, Kickapoo opens the regular season Nov. 19 at Rogersville.
