By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Peanut butter and jelly’s combination flair has had nothing on Licking basketball and district championships during head coach Steve Rissler’s tenure.
The 2022 Wildcats capped a 24-5 season with the program’s eighth district title in the past ten years. Rissler was also named Frisco League Coach of the Year.
“The girls won the Frisco Tourney and went undefeated in Frisco regular season play,” Rissler said. “We won Class 3 district 10 over Mansfield, won the sectional game beating Steelville before falling in the quarterfinals to Strafford.”
Entering his 11th season at the helm, Rissler once again will prepare his team to challenge for a postseason run.
Gone are graduates Kylie Taylor and Kiley Ingram, a 5-foot-6 point guard and 6-foot forward providing a nightly inside-out option for the Wildcats.
Ingram will continue her basketball career this season at Westminster College.
A trio of returning players will look to lead Licking this season in Abbie Sullins, Hannah Medlock and Kaida Cook
Sullins, a 5-foot-11 senior, will play the wing for the Wildcats and look to secure her 1,000th career point early in the season. She was selected to all-conference and all-district teams in her junior campaign.
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF THE WINTER PREVIEWS
“Sullins can shoot the 3 or post up,” Rissler said. “She is a shot blocker with excellent length.”
Medlock, a 5-foot-7 junior guard, is one of the team’s primary shooters and an all-conference and all-district honoree.
“Medlock is a 3-point specialist with deep range especially in big games,” Rissler said.
Cook, a 5-foot-10 senior, is an emerging post player the Wildcats will look to continue improving this season.
“Cook came on strong late last season and continued playing well throughout the summer,” Rissler said. “She is a back to the basket post who can shoot from 3.”
In addition to its upperclassmen, Licking returns a quartet of talented sophomores to the varsity roster in 5-foot-6 Linzie Wallace, 5-foot-6 Kinley Keaton, 5-foot-8 Allie Hock and 5-foot-8 Zoey Dawson.
Rissler also expects a trio of varsity newcomers to compete for minutes in 5-foot-8 junior Finley Sullins, 5-foot-10 Addison Floyd and 5-foot-8 Maci Sparks.
Despite losing a key component to graduation at the point, Rissler and Licking still have high expectations heading into the season.
A third trip to the Final Four is the goal and standard for a program measured by its postseason success.
“We look to defend our Frisco and district titles and advance to the Final Four,” Rissler said. “The girls will need to buy in on the defensive end on a daily basis in practice for this to happen.”
With respect to the team’s commitment to the defensive end, Rissler believes a few adjustments will have to be made in Licking’s overall scheme this season.
“We usually use length and size to take away passing lanes on defense and drive and kick on offense,” Rissler said. “This year’s squad will be smaller than normal, so we will change some things up on defense to better fit the personnel.”
One thing that Rissler hopes won’t change for the Wildcats is the ability to shoot the ball from the permeter.
“We have a lot of girls that shoot it well,” Rissler said. “We hope to become better defensively and establish more of an inside out game than previous years.”
Licking tips off its season November 18 in the BSN Shootout.
