by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com
St. Joseph Christian
St. Joseph Christian did not start the season with high expectations,
at least from the media, who picked them to finish 8th. For many, the Lions playing in the GRC
Championship might have been a surprise, but not to coach Erin Patrick. Before the season started, he told me that
newcomers Chloe Burnham and Lexi McDaniel would be worth at least 20 more
points a game. He felt that the defense
was a strength the season before, but that they didn’t have consistent
scoring. With Burnham and McDaniel in
the lineup, the Lions went from 35 points a game to 54 a season later.
The Lions finished 21-7 and won the District Championship,
their first since 2012. They lost to
eventual champion Platte Valley in the sectionals but were able to compete with
them before a run in the third allowed Platte Valley to pull away. In addition to the District Championship,
Christian won the Platte Valley and Gilman City Tournaments and defeated
eventual GRC Champion Milan by 32 in the first matchup between the two teams
before falling in the rematch in the GRC Championship the following week. The Lions finished the season ranked #7 in
Class 1.
Christian will not be surprising anyone this season. Burham (18.6 ppg) and McDaniel (13.6 ppg)
earned 1st team all-conference and will now be entering with a full
season of varsity experience. Ella
Bowman (7.1 ppg) earned 2nd team all-conference and was Christian’s
top defender with 3.4 blocks per game. Other
key returning players include Juniors Maya Freudenthal, Jaci Jorgensen and
Danika Wattenbarger. The Lions add
Sophomore Maddi Blevins and Junior Taylor Parmer to a talented team. They are favorites to repeat as GRC West
Champions and have a chance to bring home the GRC Title at the GRC Showcase in
King City.
Coach Patrick said “Our expectations will be high to repeat
as district champions and advance farther into the playoffs. We won 2 out of 3 in-season tournaments last
year and would like to go 3 out of 3 this year.
We would like to again earn first place in the GRC West and win the GRC
championship after getting second (to Milan) last year.
I believe our fans will enjoy watching us play the style of
basketball in which we compete as a team this year. Our fans should enjoy watching to see if we
can improve over last season not only offensively but also defensively. We will host the PVI tournament with the 1st
and 3rd Place games returning to Northwest Missouri State University this
December. Our fans will be excited to
watch us play right before Christmas at St. Joseph Civic Arena (against Stewartsville/Osborn)
that is sponsored by the St. Joseph Sports Commission. Then play the next week in the Twelve Courts
of Christmas at Hy-Vee Arena against Higbee.
We will again go to the Fairfax and Gilman City basketball tournaments
in January.”
North Andrew
North Andrew Cardinals finished 16-10 and 5-2 in the GRC
West last season. The Cardinals were
able to capture 3rd place in the Bishop LeBlond Tournament defeating
Savannah and Consolation in the North Platte Tournament with a win over West
Platte. In addition, they knocked off
Stanberry in conference play after falling to them the week before in the
Stanberry Tournament. The win set them
up for a shot at the division title against St. Joseph Christian in their final
game. Although, they were not able to
win that game, the Cardinals showed that they were one of the top teams in the
GRC last season.
This year, they return 83% of their scoring and look to
challenge for the conference title once again.
Junior Brylie Brinks was the leading scorer at 8.9 points a game. Their top four scorers return with Madison
Lillard (8.3 ppg), Riley Walker (8.3 ppg) and Cassidy Brittian (5.8 ppg). Other returnees include Reagen Walker, Piper
Cook, Ellie Lawrence, Autumn Rasnic and Gracie Wilmes. Newcomers for the Cardinals include Briley
Rainez and Teigan Miller
Cook and Brinks were among the league leaders in the
conference in free throw shooting. Among
returning players, Cook is 2nd in the West at 72.7% and Brinks is 3rd
at 72.0%. Lillard had a great freshman
campaign from long distance finishing 2nd in the conference behind
Cady Pauley of Milan with 2.5 3-pointers made per game. Brinks was first-team all-conference, Riley
Walker was second-team and Lillard received honorable mention.
Terry Hopkins will be taking over as head coach for the
Cardinals this season.
King City
King City Wildkats finished 12-13 including 3-4 in
conference last season. It included
consolation in the Stanberry Tournament and 3rd Place in their own
tournament. The Wildkats do lose Chloe
Eiberger and Paisley Catlett from last year’s team, but they return 80% of
their scoring including their top two scorers in Zoe Tunks (11.8 ppg) and Taryn
Hunter (8.9 ppg). Tunks was 2nd
team all-conference and Hunter earned honorable mention all-conference.
Other key players returning for King City are Tacee Catlett,
Kaylee Roberts, Clare Staley and Kamdyn Carlson. Coach Ryan Anderson said “I expect to be
competitive; we have a good mix of guards and posts that will form a strong
nucleus, including two all-conference players.
We return a group of experienced players that put in a lot of work in
the off season, I'm excited to see it payoff in the regular season.”
Pattonsburg
Pattonsburg Panthers finished 18-9 and tied with St. Joseph
Christian for first in the GRC west at 6-1 including a key victory over
Stanberry avenging an earlier loss in the Albany Tournament. The Panthers will enter the season without
four seniors lost to graduation. But
they do return a very athletic and talented roster. Jenna Heath, a four year starter and 2nd
team all-conference last season, will be one of the keys for the Panther
success. Supporting Heath will three
year letter winner Bessa Hoover, Junior
Guard Kelsey Crabtree and a pair of very talented Sophomores, Kate Jones and
Kinsley Johnson. Coach Lee Warford said,
“I think that once everyone establishes their role and our two sophomores
figure out the impact that they can have we could have a solid basketball team
come January and February.”
Worth County
Worth County Tigers return their entire starting lineup from
last season including Ali Brown (7.0 ppg) who earned honorable mention
All-Conference. Other than Justina
Wimer, who played a few minutes off the bench, the Tigers return the entire
team from last season. For Worth County,
it was not a season that fans have grown accustomed to. They were only able to win 2 games going 2-22
overall and 1-6 in conference. But
having the core of the team back this year will be key in rebuilding,
especially Brown, who continues to be a force in the post, but has also
improved her outside game. Kynah Steele (5.3 ppg) was out half of the year last
year due to an injury, but also was a key player in the post and is expected to
be a key contributor. Taylor Sanders
(2.4 ppg) is looking to provide some outside scoring, but can also handle the
ball when needed.
Newcomer Rylee Ruckman is an incoming freshman this
year. She was the main ball handler in
junior high and will be expected to contribute immediately as a freshman.
Coach Tiffany Bliley said, “My expectation for the upcoming
season is to continue building and improving our program. I think that we will be more competitive than
last year as we are returning everyone and gaining a new ball handler. The girls have put in a lot of time and hard
work over the summer to continue getting better. As long as we stay healthy and without
injury, I think that we will be able to contend this year.”
Stanberry
Stanberry Bulldogs had high expectations last season. They were coming off conference and district
championships. They were picked to win
the GRC West and were favorites to capture another district title. They were returning all-conference players
Lexi Craig, Sadie Runde and Tarynn Mattson.
The Bulldogs had a very good season finishing 17-7 and 5-2 in
conference, but unfortunately, they fell short of their ultimate goals. They did win the King City Tournament and
were co-champions of their own tournament.
The King City title was their 5th consecutive. They finished 2nd in the Albany
Tournament and Districts. In the final
rankings, they received votes in the Class 1 state poll.
Now, Stanberry is looking to rebuild. Craig, Runde and Mattson have all graduated
along with Astasia Brown. The Bulldogs
do return Amelia Wallce, who averaged 10.4 ppg last season, for her junior
campaign. Other key returning players
are Katie Angle and Kiley Mattson along with newcomer Lindsey Hailey. But if Stanberry is going to win games this
season, they will have to have some players step up to replace 68% of the
scoring lost with the departure of their seniors.
Coach Taylor Wendt said that “This season we are focusing on
making the adjustments needed to make this team successful. We will have a
different set up than years past and it’s something we will all have to learn
to adjust to. It will be a learning year for some, but we look to still be
competitive and have fun while doing it!”
Albany
Last year was a season of attrition for the Albany
Warriors. In games that they were able
to actually play, they were 0-17 and 0-5 in conference play. They had to forfeit a couple others due to
lack of players. They were finally able
to have 5 players to play their final two games but did not have the talent or
the depth to keep up with other teams.
This season, Albany returns their entire team. However, they are still young. Cory Worrell is their only senior. Abby Troncin (7.3 ppg) and Addisyn Crawford
(7.0 ppg) were the leading scorers for the Warriors last season as
sophomores. They look to improve upon
that during their junior season. Albany
also adds five freshman to the team which will allow them to have more depth.
Coach Jeffrey Epperley said, “We expect to use the individual skills we developed last
year to practice and play as a team. By adding in five freshmen, we were
able to get a lot accomplished over the summer and will continue to get better
as the season progresses.”
North Harrison
North Harrison Lady Shamrocks struggled in their initial
season in the GRC going 7-20 and 1-5 in conference play. They were able to capture consolation in the
Gilman City Tournament when they defeated a Gilman City team that they had lost
to earlier in the season. The Lady
Shamrocks graduated three players including leading scorer and honorable
mention all-conference Camden Castleberry (10.3 ppg). Other players that graduated were Erin Virtue
and Karley Koch.
Jayliegh Robins, who also earned honorable mention
all-conference is the leading returning scorer at 8.3 ppg. She will be joined by Halle Morgan, Jaci
Davis, Trendi Johnson, Kira Robertson and Carmon Fordyce. Coach Aaron Long said “We will have a fair
amount of on court experience. Hopefully that can result in controlled and
composed possessions on both ends of the floor.”
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