By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Carl Junction Lady Bulldogs found a way to overcome an injury to a key player and win their seventh straight district championship last season.
“Last year was difficult for us with the loss of Jessa Hylton during volleyball,” said Brad Shorter, who enters his 12th season as the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach. “The spirit of the team was shattered when they learned of her injury. We were able to focus on the improvement we wanted to see for the group to be successful. We finished strong by winning our seventh-consecutive district title.”
Carl Junction finished 23-8 overall and 6-3 in the Central Ozark Conference on its way to a Class 5 District 6 title with a 65-60 win over Willard before falling to eventual Class 5 champion West Plains (55-46) in the sectional round.
In addition to the graduation of all-district and all-conference player, Hylton, the Lady Bulldogs also graduated Ellie Lawson.
“Ellie was the spark plug for us last year,” Shorter said. “She played multiple positions for us. She was a great team player her entire career.
“While we missed Jessa considerably early last season, it did provide some kids more court time which we hope we benefit from.”
The Lady Bulldogs return valuable experience with three seniors, one junior and two sophomores.
• Destiny Buerge, 5-foot-8, senior – Averaged 23 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.9 steals per game; earned first-team all-state, all-district, all-area and all-conference honors; could reach 2,000 points for her career; verballed to Pittsburg State. “She is a scorer; she makes us go,” Shorter said. “Destiny will need to score, distribute and get the others involved this year. I expect her to play much more aggressively on defense this season. She is a very strong guard that has multiple tools.”
• Hali Shorter, 5-7 senior – Averaged 4.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.0 spg. “Hali is our knock-down shooter from the outside. Her presence is like having a coach on the floor. She does a great job of keeping her composure, which in turn, keeps our group at an even keel. She has had some excellent performances in big games (against Webb City – 13 points in the fourth quarter; 6 3-pointers against Parkview.)
• Klohe Burk, 5-5 senior. Averaged 7.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.7 spg – “Klohe’s biggest asset is her defense. She is extremely aggressive and makes offense very difficult for opponents.”
• Kylie Scott, 6-3 junior. Averaged 13 ppg, 11 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg; named all-district, all-area, all-conference first-team and all-conference defensive team; could hit 1,000 career points; has received an offer from the University of Hawaii – “Kylie had a fabulous summer. She averaged a double-double during her sophomore season. She is going to be a force to deal with for many teams. She can play outside and in. I am excited to see what she can do this season.”
• Dezi Williams, 5-9 sophomore. Averaged 5.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg – “Dezi got multiple minutes last year as a freshman. She can fill up a stat line quickly. The time that she had last year will prove to be valuable in her sophomore stint.”
• Anna Burch, 5-9 sophomore. Averaged 2.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg – “Anna does so many things well; many of them are the little things that sometimes are unnoticed by many. She is a physical player with a high basketball IQ.”
Shorter will be looking to newcomers DeShaye Buerge, Jadyn Howard and Allie Wrestler to contribute this season.
• DeShaye Buerge, 5-7 sophomore – “Athletic sophomore that continues to really improve. I see her getting very valuable minutes this year.”
• Jadyn Howard, 5-9 freshman – “Jadyn is a very strong, athletic freshman that will give us quality minutes in the post this season.”
• Allie Wrestler, 5-4 senior – “A very quick guard that will help us defensively.”
“Dezi and Anna got quality time last year,” Shorter said. “We expect to see more of an impact from these two this year. Allie is coming back out after missing last season. She is a very fast athlete that will give us another great defender.”
Shorter says that experience will be the key to the Lady Bulldogs success this season.
“This group has had plenty of varsity court time,” Shorter said. “Defense will also be a priority. I feel like we need to be more conscientious of our defense as a program.
Carl Junction will participate in a jamboree at Webb City with McDonald County and Mount Vernon on Nov. 17 before hosting the Carl Junction Classic on Nov. 28-Dec. 1.
“Our schedule is an absolute bear,” Shorter said. “We are in the always-strong COC and have added some great tournaments with quality opponents. It will be a tough road for us, but we hope it prepares us for a push in the postseason.
“We feel we must bring our ‘A’ game every night for our schedule and conference. Last year, we had multiple kids step up to fill the void from missing Jessa Hylton. I am excited to see what we can do now with another year under our belts. Our kids are starting to understand the game more and know what it takes to be successful. I am positive our kids will compete and play extremely hard.”
