By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Bolivar Lady Liberators enter the 2021-22 season as the newest member of the Ozark Conference, while also facing the task of replacing a significant number of multi-year starters.
The Lady Liberators finished last season 14-12 overall (with no conference affiliation) and rode a five-game winning streak into the Class 5 District 10 championship game before falling to Willard 64-59.
“The first half of the season we were dealing with an injury to Lexi Berry, who was an all-state point guard for us,” said veteran head coach Ben Glasgow, who enters his third year at Bolivar. “We finally got healthy during second semester. The turning point for us was moving Cora Roweton to a full-time starter where she doubled her output offensively.”
Bolivar has some big shoes to fill with the graduation of Berry, Trinity Williamson, Cara Larimore, Ashton Lynn and Emily Hogan.
• Lexi Berry, a Class 5 First-Team All-State and all-district selection, averaged 22.5 points, 3.8 assists per game), is now playing at Evangel University. “She was a four-year starter who led us in multiple categories and was a great leader on and off the court,” Glasgow said.
• Trinity Williamson, all-district pick, averaged 12.2 ppg, 9.6 rebounds per game. “Trinity was a great athlete who was able to be a dominant rebounder and defender.”
• Cara Larimore, averaged 1.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg. “Cara was a two-year starter who was the epitome of a team player. She was willing to take on any defensive assignment and was a great teammate and leader.”
• Ashton Lynn, averaged 2.0 ppg, 1.0 steals per game. “Ashton played extremely hard and was known for her outstanding hustle. She started many games and helped with ballhandling as well as taking on tough defensive assignments.”
• Emily Hogan, averaged 1.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg. “Emily was a part of the program for four years. She was willing to play any role asked of her. She was a post player with a great work ethic.”
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The Lady Liberators return a good deal of size this season and a number of varsity-experienced players.
• Cora Roweton, 6-foot junior – Earned all-district honors, has been Bolivar’s third-leading scorer the past two seasons and was the second-leading rebounder last year. “She came on late in the season to be a weapon on the offensive end,” Glasgow said.
• Dailynn Vanderen, 5-11 junior – A returning starter who earned some starts at the end of her freshman year. “She gives us more size around the basket and has started to expand her game even more.”
• McKinley Hodges, 5-6 senior – Has been a part-time starter over the last two years but looks to step into a full-time spot this season. “She is a good outside shooter and has worked hard on her ballhandling and playmaking skills.”
• Sidney Batten, 5-7 junior – “She stepped in and played some point guard last year in place of Lexi during an injury and could look to play more of that role this season.”
• Audrey Graves, senior, small forward – “She appeared in about 80 percent of the varsity games last year and could be asked to fill a bigger role this season.”
• “Shelby Larimer is a junior who has a chance to step into some more playing time this year.”
• “Trinity Sprague is a senior who could step into some varsity playing time this year.”
Newcomers who could make the jump to varsity time include Jaylee Branderhorst, Claire Giglie, Ese Jones and Megan Howard.
“We will have a completely different look this year after losing players who started for multiple seasons,” Glasgow said. “Our season will depend on our ability to adjust to playing at a higher level.”
The Lady Liberators jump right into the fire when they open the season at home against the Class 6 third-place team and OC foe, Kickapoo, on Nov. 29.
“With this being our first year in the Ozark Conference, we had to make multiple changes to our schedule,” Glasgow said. “It will be an entirely new-looking schedule for us and there are obviously many good teams in the conference. It will be a huge challenge night in and night out.”
