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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
WILLARD — Minutes after they watched the school’s girls basketball team use a balanced attack to punch its ticket to the state quarterfinals, the Strafford boys went out and did the same.
Five players finished in double-figures as the Indians held off a challenge from Ash Grove to record a 66-52 victory in their Class 3 sectional on Wednesday night at Willard High School.
Ranked fifth in the state, the District 11 champions (21-8) will play District 10 winner and top-ranked Thayer at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar for a spot in the Final Four.
It’s Strafford’s first appearance in the quarterfinals since the 2015 team placed second in the state. They finished second in their district in each of the past five seasons, but broke through this year with a deep lineup that makes it difficult for opponents to shut down any one player.
Senior Seth Soden led the way with 14 points. Freshman Cody Voysey (13) and senior Avery Voysey (12), brothers who transferred from Ozark prior to the season, were right behind him. Senior Logan Fraker (11) and junior all-state selection AK Rael (10) were not much further off.
“I think it shows how selfless this team is,” Strafford coach Tyler Ryerson said. “They don’t care who scores. They just want to win. If that means AK scores 25, that’s what it’ll take. If it means five guys spread out, this group just wants to do whatever it takes to win.”
And there’s been a whole lot of winning at Strafford this season.
Playing a sectional at Willard moments before the boys game, the Strafford girls defeated Clever to advance to the state quarterfinals of their tournament. When the boys completed the sweep, it placed Strafford in relatively rare company among Missouri high schools.
Strafford is one of just three schools — and the only one in Class 3 — that currently has its boys basketball team and girls basketball team competing in the state quarterfinals.
Class 1 South Iron and Class 2 Bishop Leblond also share the distinction. Classes 4, 5 and 6 will crown district champions later this week, at which point the list will likely grow. But of the 11 small schools that had two teams reach the sectionals, only three saw both teams advance.
“It’s great,” Ryerson said. “The crowds that come in for these games when both the boys and girls are playing are phenomenal. We are the girls biggest fans and I know they’re our biggest fans, too. It’s awesome. It’s great that we’re still practicing. We’re still fighting over gyms in March. Not many schools have to do that. It’s been great.”
Not many schools have the depth Strafford has, either.
With Rael returning from an all-state season and six seniors on the roster, things were already looking pretty good for the Indians. Then the Voysey family moved to the district during the offseason, giving the Indians a seventh senior – and a freshman who plays beyond his years.
“Those two are great,” Rael said. “Avery is really good. Cody is going to be really good. He’s fantastic for us right now. It feels good to have them right now.”
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The duo combined for 25 points on Wednesday.
“Both of them just compete,” Ryerson said. “That’s probably the best thing about them. They are true competitors. They don’t care what game we’re playing. … They just want to win. Both of those guys are big-baskets, clutch-type kids and both of them help us get better in transition. They brought some tempo to us that we really missed last year.”
After opening the season 6-8, the Indians have now won 15 consecutive games.
“We got healthy,” Ryerson said. “Cody Voysey missed the first seven games with a fractured foot. AK missed seven games. Avery, being new to our program, incorporating him and how he fits offensively and defensively (and) what his role is. This group, they started preparing like a veteran group. They started watching films, they started getting extra shots up. They came to practice with a maturity. It’s all a credit to these guys. They turned it around themselves.”
Ash Grove also saw a turnaround this season.
After going 16-58 over the past three seasons, the Pirates surged to ninth in the state rankings, won the school’s first outright conference championship since 1985 and secured their first district title since 2014. But they never led in this game and trailed by seven at the half after Cody Voysey hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Ash Grove cut the deficit to three points midway through the third quarter, only to see Strafford respond with a 12-3 run to take a 48-36 lead.
Ash Grove never got close again.
“Strafford is a really physical team and they made it tough on us offensively to get into what we were trying to do,” Pirates coach Grant Williamson said. “Our guys, at times, were doing a great job of getting to the basket and finding ways to score. We were just struggling to get into those things. If we could have maybe found a shot to go in or got a ball to bounce our way, you never know what direction it goes. Ultimately, they’re a really good team that’s really well-coached. We gave them our best shot and they just made more plays than we did.”
Sam Moreland scored 22 points in his final game for Ash Grove, which finished 23-4.
Strafford shifts its focus to the Bobcats, who are 27-1. They defeated two-time defending state champion Hartville to win their ninth state district title, then beat Steelville in the sectionals.
It will be Strafford’s third showdown with a state-ranked opponent during its five-game playoff run. The Indians also defeated No. 7 Greenwood in a district semifinal.
“We’re going to prepare for Thayer like we’ve prepared for a lot of different teams,” Ryerson said. “We’re going to watch a bunch of film. We’re going to go out there and play. I’ve told this group for a while tonight that defense travels. … We didn’t guard great tonight, but the way we’ve shown we can guard can make it tough on anybody.”
