Day: November 17, 2021

 

Webb City’s girls basketball team will feature a number of varsity veterans and some promising newcomers when the 2021-22 season officially begins on Monday.

“We are looking forward to the start of the season,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “Although we lost some key players to graduation, we feel like we have a solid group coming back and some very talented younger kids to step in and fill the void. Our focus this year will be getting back to simple fundamental basketball, focusing on competing and improving each day. As always, the conference will be very competitive with many talented teams and players. We have a strong non-conference schedule that will help prepare us for the gauntlet of the COC.”

The Cardinals will feature four seniors. 

Kenzie Robbins, a 5-foot-9 forward, missed a large part of last season due to a knee injury. She averaged five points and three boards a game, earning second-team all-district honors. 

“Kenzie is coming off an ACL injury, and once we get her back and healthy, we think she can help with our scoring,” Coach Robbins said.

Fellow seniors Josie Spikereit and Ripley Shanks are 5-10 forwards who gained varsity experience last year, while classmate Austyn Mickey is a 5-7 guard. 

“Our biggest strength this year will be our senior leadership,” Coach Robbins said. “We have four seniors who were not satisfied with how the season ended last year and that resonates throughout the program. And I think we have the chance to be a very good defensive team with our size and length at all five positions.” 

Junior guard Kate Brownfield is another top returner. The 5-9 Brownfield averaged six points and six rebounds a game last year, earning all-district honors. 

“Kate Brownfield ended the season last year playing really good basketball,” Robbins said. “She had a good summer and is someone we think can have a breakout season this year. She has all the tools to do some good things.”

Sophomore guards Mia Robbins and Malorie Stanley both gained plenty of varsity experience last season and should take on bigger roles this winter. 

Mia Robbins is a 5-8 point guard who averaged three boards, two points and two assists a game as a freshman, while Stanley is a 5-8 shooting guard who contributed four points and two rebounds a game. 

Junior guard Kylie Jennings also returns after earning varsity minutes last season. 

Webb City has three newcomers that are expected to contribute in a big way.

Sami Mancini is a 6-5 freshman post player who should make an immediate impact. 

“Sami is only a freshman, but we are expecting some good things out of her in the post area,” Robbins said. “At 6-5, she has the ability to be a game changer for us.”

Junior Izzy Lopez and freshman Kirra Long will provide depth at the guard position. 

The Cardinals must overcome the loss of Jaydee Duda and Sierra Kimbrough, a pair of guards who led the way in scoring last season.

“We lost the majority of our scoring from last season, so we will need some individuals to step up into that scoring role,” Robbins said. “We certainly have several girls who are capable of doing that.”

The Cardinals will look to improve upon last year’s 10 wins.

“The biggest key for us will be how quickly some of our young girls mature. That will allow us to have some depth in our lineup,” Robbins said. 

Webb City hosts McDonald County on Monday in the season opener. 

 

 

The Webb City boys basketball team returns a solid core from last year’s squad that won 18 games, claimed a Kaminsky Classic crown and played for a district championship for the fifth straight season.

As a result, the Cardinals are confident they can put together a stellar 2021-22 season.

“I think we have a talented group returning that can compete at a high level,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “Good leadership from our senior class will be key for us to compete with the top teams on our schedule. We’re going to play fast, we want to pressure the basketball and we want to be a solid man-to-man defense team. We want to give our fans something that they can be proud of and something that’s fun to watch.” 

Five seniors return with varsity experience—Cohl Vaden, Kaden Turner, Max Higginbotham, Dupree Jackson and Isaiah Brisco.

Vaden, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, earned all-conference, all-district and all-area recognition a season ago after averaging 12.3 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals per game. He’s a player that has shown the ability to knock down 3-pointers and can also provide ball-handling. 

“He gives us a reliable ball-handler at the point guard position,” Horn said. “He’s a high IQ player and has a lot of varsity experience. He’s someone who can score and he can get the ball in the right hands. Cohl is also a guy that can quarterback our defense.” 

The athletic and versatile Turner is a 6-4 forward who averaged 8.5 points and five rebounds a game. He can score in various ways and can defend all positions, Horn noted. 

Higginbotham (6-2) and Brisco (5-9) are guards, while the 5-10 Jackson is a forward who can fill the defensive stopper role. 

Also back is 6-4 junior forward Trey Roets, who averaged three points and two boards a game last winter. Horn expects Roets to take on a bigger role this year.

“I think we’ll look a little different than we have in the past,” Horn said. “We’ve got two guys (Turner, Roets) who can score with their backs to the basket. We’ve been really guard heavy the last five years. Trey and Kaden give us a different dynamic with their size and length in the post position.” 

A top newcomer is 5-10 junior guard Dante Washington, a player who saw significant minutes for Joplin last winter. Washington is a player who should make a big impact. 

Juniors William Hayes, Landon Johnson and Joe Adams and sophomore Barron Duda are other players who could make an impact at the varsity level.

“Our guard play should still be a strength for us with a number of guys being able to make shots from the perimeter and get to the basket off the dribble,” Horn said. “Defensively, we have to do a better job of limiting straight-line drives and pressuring the ball without committing unnecessary fouls.”

A key to success for the Cardinals will be how the varsity newcomers progress and contribute. 

“We will have some new guys that will be playing key roles this season,” Horn said. “How quickly they can adjust to the speed and physicality of the varsity game will play a huge factor in determining how successful we will be this season.”

Of course, many of Webb City’s top performers are still playing football, so they’ll get off to a late start as far as hoops season.  

“We don’t stress out about it, we’re just happy when they get here,” Horn said, noting the seniors have been in the program since seventh grade and know the system well. “It’s a situation where the deeper they go in the playoffs, the more we have to play ourselves into basketball shape. We just hope everyone will be healthy and they’ll be ready to compete and play hard.” 

Webb City will begin the season at Lamar on Dec. 7.

 

The Carl Junction girls basketball team captured its sixth straight district championship last winter.

Now, as the 2021-22 season arrives, the Bulldogs appear to have the pieces in place to potentially continue that impressive streak. 

Carl Junction returns four starters and nearly its entire lineup from last year’s squad that went 18-9 and won a district title before falling to West Plains in the quarterfinal round of the Class 5 state tournament.  

“It’s a fun group to coach,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “They mesh really well together. Hopefully we can do some good things this year. The best thing about this group is they get along well and they practice hard. And I think we’re going to keep getting better.” 

Junior guard Destiny Buerge is coming off a stellar sophomore season. 

Buerge earned first-team all-conference, district player of the year and all-state recognition after averaging 24.6 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists per game last winter.

Buerge, a player who can shoot from the perimeter or drive to the hoop, will lead an experienced backcourt.

Also back for the Bulldogs are junior guards Hali Shorter and Klohe Burk and senior guard Ellie Lawson.

Hali Shorter averaged six points, four rebounds and three assists per game. showed the ability to knock down 3-pointers

Burk, who spent the second half of the season with the Bulldogs after transferring from College Heights, averaged nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal per game. 

Perimeter shooting should be a strength of the Bulldogs. Buerge made 42 3-pointers last season, while Shorter hit 34 treys and Burk made 21. 

Lawson also returns with plenty of varsity experience. She provides ball-handling and pressure defense on the perimeter. Shorter said Lawson has improved quite a bit.

Of course, the Bulldogs would have featured senior guard Jessa Hylton, but the former all-conference and all-district performer suffered a knee injury during the volleyball season that will wipe out her final season of prep hoops. Hylton averaged 10 points and two steals per game last winter. 

“It’s tough losing Jessa,” Shorter said. “She did so many things well. We’ll have to have other kids take care of that void.” 

In addition to his standout guards, Shorter expects big things from 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Kylie Scott. 

Scott missed a large part of her freshman campaign due to a wrist injury. In 14 games, Scott averaged nine points and nine rebounds, earning all-district honors after the season. Shorter expects Scott to take her game to another level this season. 

Other players to watch include senior Loren Lee and sophomores Hailey Merwin and Anna Burch. 

Shorter noted there’s a lot to like about this year’s group. 

“I think our guard play will be pretty solid,” Shorter said. “We can shoot it. And with Kylie, Anna and Loren inside, I think we have some strong post players. We should be able to play inside-out and outside-in at times.”

Shorter said he’s been pleased with what he’s seen in practice thus far, and added the expectations will be high this winter. 

“Our goals are the same every year,” Shorter added. “We want to give ourselves a shot at a conference title and a district title. The biggest thing for us is to just get a little bit better everyday. That’s what we want to focus on. We know we need to improve defensively.”

The Bulldogs will begin the season by hosting their annual CJ Classic on Nov. 29. Carl Junction plays Neosho at 8:30 p.m. in the first round of the eight-team event.