By Chris Parker
There has never been a greater girls basketball dynasty in Missouri than Strafford . In March, Strafford beat Licking 65-62 in the Class 3 state title game to win the program’s fifth consecutive state title to set a record for consecutive state titles.
The Lady Indians will try to make it six in a row with a new cast of players after graduating four seniors. Three of those seniors earned postseason honors of some type. Logan Jones earned Class 3 all-state honors and is now playing collegiately for Evangel. Taylor Dormann was second-team all-conference. Mica Chadwell was also second-team all-conference.
Leading the returning players is junior guard Emma Compton. Compton earned all-state honors last year after averaging 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
“Emma is an intense competitor on both ends of the court. As our point guard, she will be looked upon to provide leadership and poise on the floor,” Strafford head coach Dustin Larsen said. “We look forward to seeing her improve in all aspects of her game this coming season. (She) brings a lot of energy to the floor.”
Fellow junior Emma Mullings is the top returning scorer after she put up 5.5 points per game last season. She added in 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
“Emma provided so much spark to our team last year coming off the bench. She was very instrumental to our success,” Larsen said. “(She is) very active on defense, very versatile on offense. (We are) looking forward to seeing her get better this year.”
Mattie Walker rounds out the returning juniors. She played in 33 games last year averaging 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
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“Mattie had a great year of improvement and development last season,” Larsen said. “She will be look upon to provide consistent play in in the post, but she also can extend the defense. (She is a) great rebounder and defender.”
Hannah Hess will be the lone senior this year after seeing time in 25 games last year.
“Hannah is our lone senior. She will provide very solid play and leadership. She is a scrappy defender that can extend the defense on offense. We are excited to see her have a great senior year,” Larsen said.
Juniors Bailey Chrisman and Maddi Maples will be two newcomers to watch. Chrisman is versatile and provides good defense and rebounding from the guard position.
Sophomores Ashley Suter and Sophia Frerking both stand at 5’10 and have shown great improvement.
Freshmen Lauren Jones and Evelyn Comstock will look to make an immediate varsity impact. Jones, the younger sister of Logan Jones, will be a strong defender at guard. Comstock is a hard-nosed defender who is improving as a perimeter shooter.
Strafford will hang its hat on playing strong defense this year.
“Our philosophy will be to play great defense, rebound, and limit turnovers, while playing team basketball on both ends of the floor,” Larsen said. “We will be focused on improving each day, working hard, and working together to grow as a team. We have a lot of young ladies stepping into new roles and are ready to compete at a high level and get better each day. It will be exciting to see this group continuing to grow during this season. Our schedule, conference, and district will bring great challenges, but those are the challenges we need to continue to get better and continue a great tradition.”
Strafford opens the season on Nov. 23 at Blue Eye.
