By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Katie Pritchard is entering her sixth season at Marshfield and what she has done with the Lady Jays is nothing short of incredible with the program equaling or increasing its win total in all five seasons, culminating in last year’s 22-6 campaign; the most wins since Lauren Aldridge led the program to the Final Four in 2014.
Now Marshfield returns four starters from that team and has expectations that come with hardware.
“The girls on the team now were young kids during that 2014 run and looked up to all of those players,” said Pritchard. “I think seeing that team’s success instilled in this group early what the expectations were as Lady Jays.
“This senior class has pushed this program to a higher level each season, and they are excited at the possibilities the season holds. All of our girls take great pride in having Marshfield across their chest. They want to make the community proud.”
Now another Lauren is leading Big Blue and her resume is nearly as impressive. Senior Lauren Luebbert is coming off of a junior season that saw her average 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on her way to earn Class 5 All-State honors, in addition to All-District and All-Big 8 honors as well.
She’s the two-time reigning Big 8 East Player of the Year.
“Lauren is a special player,” said Pritchard. “She really stepped her game up to a new level last season and proved herself to be a dominant player in the area. She can play any position and score from anywhere on the floor. She loves the defensive end, and always loves the challenge of guarding one of the other team’s best players.
Fellow senior Abby McBride has had an incredible career at Marshfield as well, coming off of an All-District and All-Big 8 junior season that saw her average 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists.
She’s widely considered one of the top defenders in the Ozarks.
“Abby is an incredible athlete and dynamic basketball player,” said Pritchard. “She is an excellent on-ball defender and causes disruptions all over the floor. She can score at all three levels and has the capability of a big scoring night each time she steps on the floor.”
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF THE WINTER PREVIEWS
Classmates Lillie Findley and Halle Menzies each earned postseason awards last year, with Findley being an All-Big 8 Honorable Mention selection and Menzies being named to the All-Big 8 Defensive Team.
“Lillie is a knockdown shooter from the perimeter,” said Pritchard. “She helps spread the floor for us on the offensive end. Halle is a bulldog on the defensive end. She plays hard every single possession and brings so much toughness to our team.”
Pritchard is also excited about the development of sophomore point guard Quinn Aldridge, who averaged 10 points as a freshman.
She’s also the sister of the aforementioned Lauren Aldridge.
“Quinn stepped in as a freshman and ran the point for our team,” said Pritchard. “She has great ability on both ends and has a natural gift for understanding the game. She has the opportunity to showcase more of her skillset this season.”
Fellow sophomores Jordan Jung and Tilly Greenfield will also see expanded roles this winter.
Jung is extremely athletic and a lightning rod for Marshfield. Greenfield is another athlete that adds toughness and physicality for the Lady Jays.
They were great off the bench last season and will see an uptick in minutes. There are also a few freshmen that could see varsity roles this winter.
While she was known for her offensive explosiveness at Drury (1,541 points in her career; 255 3-point FG), Pritchard has turned Marshfield into one of the best defensive programs in the Ozarks. The Lady Jays allowed just 38.9 PPG last season.
Over the last five seasons, their points per game allowed have decreased from 50.4 (2018-19) to 45.1 (2019-20) to 42.3 (2020-21) to 40.5 (2021-22) before last season’s elite defense.
That will again be their calling card this winter.
“We hang our hats on our defense,” said Pritchard. “We know no matter how any particular game goes, we will always have our defense there to give us a chance. We emphasize being a unit on defense, always working as one whole. When you have five players on the floor that buy into that, it can be special. Our girls work hard and take pride on that end.”
It’s been 10 years since Aldridge and Marshfield went to the Final Four and this is the program’s most talented and experienced team since that unit. The Lady Jays haven’t won a district championship since then either.
To say expectations are high would be putting it lightly.
“Winning districts has been the No. 1 goal for this senior class since they got to high school,” said Pritchard. “With being seniors, there comes a new sense of urgency and hunger that you can’t replicate when they are younger. Lauren and Abby are four-year starters, and have led the way in getting the program into the position it is today.
Our seniors are surrounded by a talented group of younger players who are all in. We have to take the opportunity every time we are on the floor to get better and prepare ourselves for those postseason battles. We added several quality opponents to our schedule to continue to challenge us.
Marshfield will host a jamboree on Nov. 14 before opening the 2023-24 regular season on Nov. 20 at Clever.
