High School Girls Basketball Power Rankings – Week 3
(Teams are ranked by the KSPR Sports Department based on their relative strength to class size. Overall dominance, strength of schedule, quality wins, and momentum are factors in determining the order. Feel free to email comments to mscott@kspr.com)
(Last week's ranking in parentheses)
1. Republic (2) – The Lady Tiger move up to number 1 after knocking off class 5 state ranked Kickapoo in overtime. Next up, a challenging 3 days at the KTXR Lady Classic. Even more impressive, the Lady Tigers are undefeated despite playing without SBU commit Alexis Edwards who will return at the start of the new year.
2. West Plains (3) – The Lady Zizzers continued their strong start with a 63-60 win over MV-BT/Liberty; Whitney Ingalsbe had an impressive 10-11 shooting performance in the win.
3. Walnut Grove (4) – It’s not that the Lady Tigers are winning, it’s that they’re winning by more than most teams score. Last week they picked up a 75 point win over Hurley and a 52 point win over Billings. Next up, round 2 of their own tournament vs. Pleasant Hope after Christmas.)
4. Glendale (1) – The Lady Falcons are mortal, dropping their first game to Nixa 60-53. The up and coming Lady Eagles forced Glendale into a season high 18 turnovers in the loss. Coach Temple’s squad will look to rebound at the KTXR Classic Dec. 27-29 at Drury.
5. Fordland (5) – The Lady Eagles opened the Walnut Grove Tournament with a comfortable 59-28 win over Miller. Then blew out Spokane 79-36 behind 26 points from senior Megan Claxton. After Christmas Coach McDaris’s squad wraps up the Walnut Grove Tournament before opening the Sparta Tournament January 2nd.
6. Couch (6) – Idle last week; next game January 3rd vs. Ellington.
7. Nixa (15) – What an amazing turnaround! The Lady Eagles move up 8 more spots after beating previously top ranked Glendale 60-53. Jeana Raper is leading a balanced offensive attack. Coach Middleton has his girls back contending after a massively down year. The 8-0 Lady Eagles are the 2-seed at the Pink and White and will open with Fair Grove December 26th at McDonald Arena.
8. Ash Grove (7) – Idle last week; The Lady Pirates are the 4-seed at the Pink and White and will face a tough opener against unseeded Hillcrest.
9. Ozark (8) – A long break for coach Little’s girls; next up KTXR Lady Classic.
10. Seymour (9) – The Lady Tigers beat Licking 57-49. Now it’s a LONG break before visiting Willow Springs January 9th.
11. Purdy (10) – The defending state champs continue to grow with a 45 point win over College Heights. Next up, Coach Young’s team faces Cassville December 27th at the Neosho Holiday Classic.
12. Stockton (11) – The Lady Tigers took care of business last week with a 50-36 win over Strafford. The defending state champs will be a heavy underdog at next weeks KTXR Lady Classic.
13. Skyline (13) – Only 1 game for the Lady Tigers, but they dominated Windsor 67-28 at the State Fair Shootout. Coach Cheek’s club hosts Marshfield Thursday night before heading to Springfield for the Pink and White.
14. Kickapoo (12) – Tough loss for the Lady Chiefs; 81-74 at Republic in overtime. Senior Annie Armstrong had a career night with 36 points in the loss. It will be interesting to see how Coach Pendergrass’s club responds next week at the KTXR Lady Classic of which they are pretty much the host school.
15. Sparta (NR) – No disrespect to Crane, but we felt like Sparta needed to move into the top 15. The Lady Trojans knocking off Hartville 50-40 behind 34 points from Cailyn Long. Next up, hosting their own tournament January 2-7.
Dropped out: Crane
Knocking on the door: Mt Vernon, Aurora, Ava, Clever, Weaubleau, Fair Play, Branson, Parkview
