By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Basketball season is underway in Missouri. Below are the area’s Class 2 Girls Basketball Players to Watch this year.
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Taylor Blehm, Marion C. Early Senior
Matching up with Blehm is extremely difficult, especially for Class 2 programs. As a junior, she averaged 16.1 points and 6.7 rebounds, earning all-district honors. She’s not just small-school good either, she put up 16 points and nine rebounds against Class 5 Bolivar last year and 16 points and eight rebounds against Hillcrest.
Kenzi Cheek & Ashlen Garrett, Skyline Junior
Kevin Cheek is nearing his 600th win and in his 25th season, but this may be the best backcourt he’s ever had. Garrett averaged 18 points and 4.5 steals as a sophomore while Cheek added 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. They are both tailor-made to play at Skyline; extremely tough, versatile and high-level defenders. This is a state championship-caliber Skyline team that Cheek and Garrett are leading.
Brenna Couch, Plato Senior
Couch has a relentless motor that is nothing short of impressive; she is constantly pursuing the ball off the rim. As a junior she averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds per game, earning all-league honors. But the fact she opened the season with 27 points and 15 rebounds, while also knocking down multiple 3’s, should scare the entire Frisco League entering the winter.
Libby Fanning, College Heights Junior
College Heights claimed a district title last year and Fanning was the catalyst. The 6-foot post is great at carving out space down low and dominates the glass on both ends. She averaged 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds as a sophomore, including a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double in the Sweet 16 against Fordland.
Jessie Keith & Callie Smith, Bakersfield Junior
Keith and Smith return after leading Bakersfield to one of its best seasons in the last decade. Both are extremely aggressive on the defensive end, getting steals that lead to transition buckets. The program doesn’t have much size but both add versatility on either end of the floor. Bakersfield will be one of the best teams locally in Class 2.
Jenna Kelley, Hartville Senior
Kelley doesn’t really have a position, just know that she’s extremely effective. Her 11 points and 8.1 rebounds from last season would say that she’s a post, but she can also step out and shoot the 3 as well as create off the dribble. She’ll be one of the toughest 1v1 matchups in the Summit Conference.
Loghann Leivan, Miller Sophomore
Earning an all-state patch as a freshman is wild, but that’s the kind of season that Leivan had. She averaged 13 points and five rebounds, but her pure presence on the floor is worth more than those numbers. She creates space, understands how to move the ball and is disruptive defensively.
Lucy Newberry, Marionville Senior
Few players are tougher to contain than the 5-foot-7 Newberry. She’s a gifted scorer with one of the deepest bags in the Ozarks and truly controls a game from start to finish. As a junior, she averaged 20 points, six rebounds, four steals and 3.5 assists. She opened the 2023-24 season with nearly identical numbers, averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, five assists and 5.5 steals.
Crystal Smith, Jasper Junior
What happens when you take one of the best athletes in the area and put her in Class 2? She leads the area in steals. Smith is a 5-foot-10 freak of nature athlete that excels in track and volleyball, but might have her highest ceiling in hoops. Her length and athleticism scream D1. As a sophomore she averaged 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.5 steals. She has a very bright future in whatever she decides to play collegiately.
Kaylee Wilson, Blue Eye Sophomore
She averaged a double-double as a freshman, being named First-Team All-SWCL. She does it with pure effort. The 5-foot-7 guard has a knack for getting to the ball on both ends of the floor. Through the first two games of her sophomore year, she’s averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, making an early case for conference POY honors.
Sutton Mitchell, Weaubleau Senior
Mitchell is an absolute scoring machine and one of the best shooters in the class. Lat year, she had multiple games with at least six made 3’s. The All-Polk County League selection will again be among the league’s top scorers for a Weaubleau team that’s looking to make a run.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Emerson Bass, Jasper Junior
Abby Bowers, Thayer Junior
Sydney Bryan, Spokane Senior
Lexi Burns, Richland Junior
Kaylee Copley, Plato Senior
Brenna Couch, Plato Senior
Jayla Ferguson, Hartville Junior
Averi Foster, Galena Junior
Autumn Gunter & Gentry Davault, Norwood
Hadley Meyer, Thayer Junior
Maggie Murphy, Marionville Junior
Rachel Nunez & Ashlynn Helton, Miller Sophomores
Camryn Parker, Greenwood Senior
Gracie Rich & Lily Woodward, Crane
Alexis Shelton & Addison West, Laquey Seniors
Emma Trotter & Kenzie Haskins, Fordland
