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Stoddard County boys and girls basketball previews
Advance Hornets
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
ADVANCE, Mo. - Expectations remain high for the Advance Hornets varsity boys basketball program after a trip to the Class 2 state quarterfinals last season.
"I expect a lot this season," Advance second-year coach Bubba Wheetley said. "It's going to be hard to replace Lane, but we've got some young kids coming up who can shoot and handle the ball pretty good. We are really looking forward to this year."
The Hornets graduated five players off of last season's squad that finished 21-10 and got within a step of the Class 2 final four.
Wheetley said Advance returns two starters -- six-foot-four sophomore center Dawson Mayo and six-foot senior guard Dalton Wilson.
"We're fairly young," Wheetley said. "It could change, but we will probably start two sophomores, two juniors and one senior."
Mayo averaged five points per game and brought down a team-high seven rebounds per game last season.
Wilson averaged 9.6 points and three assists per game last season.
One significant hole the Hornets must fill is replacing shooting guard Lane Below who averaged 27.3 points per game last season and now plays college basketball at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.
Wheetley has confidence his team has the shooters to replace Below's scoring.
"Our varsity group has come out again this year and put the work in," Wheetley said. "They are shooting every day just like they did last year. Hopefully, they will step up. The only thing that worries me this year is if this group has that drive and heart that our group last year had.
"Last year's group wouldn't quit," Wheetley continued. "They weren't that talented. This group hear really has more shooters. But can we handle the basketball and can we handle the pressure? If it gets tough are we going to be able to bounce back, still play hard and get it done? I don't know, we'll have to wait and see."
Wheetley expects few cupcake contests in SCAA Conference play this season.
"I think the conference is as good as it has been in the last seven or eight years," Wheetley said. "On any given night any seven teams can beat each other. I think it's going to be a good conference to compete in this season."
The Hornets have the luxury of dropping from Class 2 to Class 1 this year. Oran, which Advance beat in last season's Class 2, District 3 championship, also dropped to Class 1.
Advance will compete in Class 1, District 3 with Bell City, Delta, Oak Ridge, Oran, Richland, Risco and Fulton School of St. Albans for the next two seasons. Bell City will host Class 1, District 3, this season.
"It's basically the same path this year," Wheetley said. "You have to beat Oran. I also think Bell City is a sleeper. The kids on the other teams are working hard too."
Fourth-seeded Advance opens its season against fifth-seeded Kelly Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at the eight-team Oran Invitational.
"Kelly is going to be a tough draw right off the bat because they are pretty scrappy," Wheetley said of the field. "Scott County is tough again, Oran is seeded second and Malden talent-wise I think is as tough as anyone in that tournament and could win it. It's going to be a tough tournament, but we are looking forward to it."
Bell City Cubs
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
BELL CITY, Mo. - Defense remains the focus for the Bell City Cubs high school boys basketball program under second-year head coach C.J. Hadley.
"I'm always focussed on defense," Hadley said. "I'm a defensive coach. I love defense because I feel like you can always have a bad offensive game, but you should never have a bad defensive game. My kids are really buying in. They know what to expect because they played for me last year. They know I'm real demanding and you cannot play for me if you don't play defense."
Hadley has the luxury of returning a slew of players who saw time on the varsity as underclassmen last season.
The Cubs only graduate off of last season's squad was standout scorer Aaron Smith.
Returning starters are: juniors Nate Finney, Kolten Siebert, Peyton Maddox and freshman Bobby Wright.
Hadley said the returning starters are accompanied by seniors Nolen Schaefer and Quinton Herkenhoff; juniors Brandon Abner and Tyler Evans; and sophomores Austin Hicks, Taylor Jackson, Cole Nichols, Ethan Jones and Jesse Smith.
The Cubs youthful talent flourished under Hadley last season in his first year at the helm.
Bell City secured the SCAA junior varsity conference tournament title in 2013 by beating Dexter 51-49 at the buzzer in the title game.
"I kind of want to put that behind," Hadley said of last season. "That was a good game and a good win for everybody. We can still talk about it and stuff, but I'm expecting these guys to do bigger things this year. We had a young team last year and now our underclassmen are juniors and they already have the varsity game experience. I'm hoping we do bigger things this year. We've got a good chance to get out of our district. I'm hoping we can buckle down on defense and get out of it."
The Cubs have the luxury of hosting Class 1, District 2 this season that features Advance, Delta, Oak Ridge, Oran, Richland, Risco and Fulton School at St. Albans.
"Advance and Oran are always good teams," Hadley said of the district. "It's always going to be a battle between us, Oran and Advance so it should be an exciting district this year."
Sixth-seeded Bell City opens its season against third-seeded Malden Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in the eight-team Oran Invitational varsity boys basketball tournament. Malden beat Bell City 82-51 in a head-to-head meeting at the event last season.
"We are looking forward to that game," Hadley said. "We played Malden last year and Cortez Dobbins dropped like 50 on us. I told our guys 'Malden has a strong team and if you don't guard them they will score.' We are looking forward to playing them this year and have some things we are going to try to implement to get a victory."
Hadley said weightlifing and defense remain the focus as the season approaches.
"Last year we didn't do a lot of lifting," Hadley said. "We've been doing more of that this year. Right now we are working on defense. I feel like the offense will come. We've got guys who can always score and knock down the three. We are just excited and ready for the season."
Bernie Mules
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
BERNIE, Mo. - The Bernie Mules high school basketball program is blessed with senior leadership entering the 2014-15 season.
Seven of the 10 players on the Mules' varsity roster are seniors. Bernie's three other varsity players are juniors.
Seniors on Bernie's roster are: center Gavin Smith; forwards Devin Trammell, Caleb Ellenburg, Login Wood and Blake Gilmore; and guards Matt Vernon and Brandon Sparks. Juniors joining the seniors are center Trey Kirkpatrick and forwards Alex Whitehead and Haydn Owens.
"We've got a pretty good balance of guards and posts," Bernie ninth-year boys basketball coach Brad Botsch said. "Ellenburg is a pretty solid scorer and I think Vernon and Sparks will really handle the ball well for us. We need some other guys to play significant roles, but I think we've got a chance to be in the mix.
"We've got some kids that are going to be poised to have real solid years as seniors," Botsch added. "They are working hard. It's a real smart group we've got. They are real intelligent. Hopefully, we will be able to translate that into some wins."
Traditional boys basketball juggernaut Bernie is coming off a 23-6 campaign last season. The Mules graduated seven seniors off of last season's squad the won the Bernie-Holcomb Invitational, SCAA Tournament, finished second in the 16-team Bloomfield Christmas Tournament and lost the Class 2, District 1 championship to South Pemiscot.
Bernie has received the top-seed in eight-team Holcomb Invitational. The Mules open its season against No. 8 seeded Risco Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at Holcomb.
"You don't really know what you have until you start playing games," Botsch said of the tournament. "Every year is a new year and you just hope to be as prepared as possible going into it. It's everybody's guess at the start of the season. I think it will be a real solid tournament with a lot of competitive games and parity."
The Mules play frequently on the road before Christmas. Bernie's only home game before January is Dec. 9 against South Iron.
"We played them last year and it's a good pickup for us," Botsch said of adding traditional Class 1 powerhouse South Iron. "We like our schedule as tough as possible. Our conference is going to have a lot of parity and our non-conference schedule is extremely tough with Sikeston, Notre Dame, South Iron, Malden and Hayti. We play really, really good teams with good tradition and I think in the end that comes around to help us come district tournament time, which is when we want to be at our best."
Botsch said he anticipates a number of close games in the SCAA.
"I think there's a lot of parity in the area this year and I feel like we are going to have a lot of close games that could probably go either way and we'll have to find a way to win those close ones," Botsch said. "Every conference game is going to be tough. I think the conference has probably improved a little over last year based off returning players. It's going to be a competitive game every single night you play."
The Mules Class 2 district features new opponents.
Portageville, Senath-Hornersville and Hayti will no longer participate in the district after moving to Class 3. Chaffee, which competed in Class 2, District 3 last season, has been added to the district. Defending Class 1 state champion Scott County Central has also moved up a class and will compete in Class 2, District 1.
Other participants in Class 2, District 1 are host Bloomfield, Campbell, Holcomb, Cooter and defending district champion South Pemiscot.
"Every two-year cycle you get some changes," Botsch said. "It's going to be interesting to see how all of that shakes out. Our district is tough every single year. You really cannot predict who is going to come out ahead. We try to work hard to keep our schedule as tough as possible to try to prepare for that. There are going to be some great teams in that district."
Botsch said the coaching staff devoted time to researching weightlifting in the offseason in an effort to reduce injuries.
"Coach Long has done an excellent job," Botsch said. "He's done a lot of basketball research on lifting. We've done a lot of basketball specific weight room workouts. He has really changed some things up with our weightlifting that I think will benefit our kids.
"He's such an asset to have here, and I really think our kids are coming into the season stronger than they have in the past," Botsch added. "Hopefully, it will prevent injuries because depth wise we are not going to be very deep so we are going to have to stay healthy."
Bloomfield Wildcats
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - Depth is likely to be a forte of the Bloomfield varsity boys basketball team in the 2014-15 season.
"We've got a group that we really like that is deep at multiple positions," Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes said of his varsity. "We should be able to go out there and play seven, eight or nine guys a night. We could be the type of group that has a different starting five every night just depending on matchups and who is playing well at the time.
"We really like our depth and I think we've got good talent," Karnes added. "These guys coming up through the ranks have always been pretty successful and a pretty good group to coach and we are looking forward to the start of the season."
The Wildcats' varsity roster is composed of senior Kendrick McCullough; juniors Cameron Pulley, Caleb Pulley, Nathan Newell, Austin Bond, Tyler Battles, Noah Vandiver and Nate Cazee; sophomores Jacob Hector, Tim Hector, Austin Phillips, Kyle Anderson and Alex Gibbs; and freshman Peyton Bell.
"I think we've got a good mix and depth at the forward and guard positions," Karnes added.
The Wildcats will have its first opportunity to display its talent when it opens its season at Holcomb Invitational against Piggott, Ark., on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Bloomfield has received the No. 2 seed in the eight-team event that also features top-seeded Bernie, third-seeded Twin Rivers, fourth-seeded Puxico, fifth-seeded Campbell, sixth-seeded Holcomb, seventh-seeded Piggott and eighth-seeded Risco.
"There are good teams up and down in that tournament, just like our conference," Karnes said. "Bernie, Twin Rivers and Puxico are going to be good, and teams like Campbell are going to be on the rise. You will get three tough games in that tournament. That's for sure."
Karnes hopes his team's performance in the tournament and in its regular-season contests at Kelly on Dec. 9 and in its home opener against Richland on Dec. 12 will put it in a position for a high seed at the 16-team Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
"We'll have the three games at the Holcomb tournament and our first two regular season games before the seed meeting," Karnes said. "It kind of depends on who you see at the tournament between Bernie, Twin Rivers, Holcomb and Puxico. If you get matched up that week with two of those that could be two pretty big games."
Karnes expects a number of close calls in the SCAA Conference this season.
"You could go anywhere from a two seed to a six or seven real quick," Karnes said of the conference tournament Bloomfield hosts Jan. 26-30. "There is going to be a lot of parity this year and it should make for some really good basketball.
Class 2, District 1 is among the three varsity tournaments Bloomfield has the luxury of hosting at the end of the season.
The eight-team district features defending district champ South Pemiscot, defending Class 1 state champion Scott County Central, Bloomfield, Bernie, Campbell, Holcomb, Chaffee and Cooter.
"We are glad we get to play so many home games and play in our own gym," Karnes said. "Class 2 will still be tough. Bernie will still be there in the end and obviously Scott County Central with the history, coach and good players they have will be awfully tough, too. I think any tournament you look at whether it is the Christmas Tournament, SCAA Tournament or district tournament, if you want to compete at a high level you are going to have to play three or four really good nights."
Dexter Bearcats
By DUSTIN WARD
Statesman Sports Editor
The Dexter Bearcats varsity boys basketball program enters the 2014-15 season with a surplus of experience and a new head coach.
1993 Dexter graduate Josh Dowdy takes over a program that returns four of its five starters off of last season's squad that went 6-16.
"I am so thankful to get this opportunity to coach in the town I grew up in," Dowdy said of taking over the program. "I love Dexter and I love being a BEARCAT. It is a bond that has brought a lot of awesome people together. I hope I can give back to these guys even half of what my teachers and coaches taught me in these hallways. I want them to have and feel what I experienced as a young man growing up in this town."
The 2014-15 Dexter varsity roster consists of three seniors, seven juniors and one sophomore.
Dowdy hopes for senior leadership from six-foot forward Noah Kronk, six-foot five center Matt Sims and six-foot two shooting guard Peyton Pollock.
"Both of these guys look like they want to pick up from where they left off on the football field," Dowdy said of Pollock and Kronk. "They are both great teammates and should provide some solid senior leadership for the rest of the guys. Noah is a real hard worker and we look for him to have a nice season. Peyton has practiced real well early. He can shoot it from the perimeter and will help us in the ball handling department.
"Matt Sims has joined us this year," Dowdy added. "Matt is a good boy and I am glad he made the decision to play. We hope he can come in and eat up some minutes in the paint."
Three of Dexter's seven juniors -- six-foot guard Austin Chesser, five-foot-nine guard Ethan Flowers and six-foot-four center Cole Renken -- started on varsity last year.
"Austin Chesser, Ethan Flowers, and Cole Renken spent most of their time on the varsity as sophomores," Dowdy said. "Austin and Ethan can shoot the ball and are similar in that they love to compete. Ethan has put in a lot of extra time. He should have a big year. Austin will add some grittiness. He is not afraid to put his body on the line. Cole Renken has worked hard over the offseason to get physically stronger. We are expecting Cole to provide a valuable presence for us inside."
The other four juniors are five-ten guard Tyler Heil, five-foot-nine guard Jacob Pedigo, six-foot-two center Addison Moore and six-foot-three center Adam Webb.
"Tyler Heil, Addison Moore, Jacob Pedigo, and Adam Webb will all move up from the JV," Dowdy said. "Tyler has a motor that does not stop. Addison has a great understanding of the game. Jacob is stronger this year and can shoot the ball real well. Adam adds some more size to our squad. All of these guys will add some depth to our team."
Five-foot-eleven sophomore standout guard Jason Jarrell was the starting point guard on the junior varsity last season.
"Jason Jarrell is our lone sophomore," Dowdy said. "Jason is a nice athlete who will play the point, which is a challenge for a sophomore. He handled it well this summer and I am confident he will be up for the task."
Dexter will have the opportunity to compete in the SCAA Conference and the SEMO Conference this season.
The Bearcats open the season with a pair of SEMO Conference games. Dexter hosts Charleston Dec. 2 and visits Sikeston Dec. 5
The SEMO Conference Tournament follows Dec. 8-12 at Sikeston High School.
No. 9 seeded Dexter is slated to play No. 8 seeded Kennett in an opening-round contest of the nine-team double-elimination tournament Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in Sikeston. The winner plays top-seeded Jackson and the loser plays the loser of a quarterfinal between second-seeded Cape Central and seventh-seed Poplar Bluff. Other seeds for the tournament are: No. 3 Sikeston, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 NMCC and No. 6 Charleston.
"When Charleston is a six seed and New Madrid is a five it tells me the conference must be pretty good," Dowdy said. "As I tell the kids 'we can't control how good the competition is, we can only control ourselves and how we play'. It has been a while since we have won a SEMO Conference game so hopefully we can pick one or two up this year."
The Bearcats are in search of their fourth SCAA tournament championship at the varsity level in the last eight seasons. Bernie beat Woodland in the SCAA tournament final last year.
"The SCAA Conference will be balanced once again," Dowdy said. "Bernie is the front runner until someone can knock them off. Bloomfield, Puxico, Woodland, and Advance will all have quality teams this year. Bell City won the SCAA JV tournament last year so I know they are excited about their bunch. Coach Cline always gets a lot out of his kids so Richland will also compete.
"It will be a battle every night, which will make it fun for fans and turns coaches bald, if not already. Hopefully, the competition will collectively help all teams be prepared for district play."
Bloomfield is slated to host this season's county tournament Jan. 26-30.
"We are aware of our schedule and the challenges we face," Dowdy said. "Our approach is simple. We want to be playing our best basketball by the time the SCAA Tournament rolls around. These guys want a chance to raise that trophy."
Sikeston hosts Dexter's Class 4 district at the end of the season. The six-team district features Sikeston, Notre Dame, Cape Central, Perryville, Dexter and Kennett.
Dowdy said preseason practices have been productive and the coaching staff is stressing fundamentals.
"We have had a good start," Dowdy said. "The kids have shown good energy and are trying to improve on some fundamentals. We have to learn to talk on the floor, close out, block out and value the ball. Just little things that are necessary to compete. It has been tough for several years now and hopefully we can point this thing in the right direction. We don't know if we will win more games. We are trying to remain patient. We just want to be more competitive."
Dexter Lady Bearcats
By Dustin Ward
Daily Statesman
DEXTER, Mo. - New faces will look to contribute in big ways for the Dexter Bearcats varsity girls basketball program entering the 2014-15 season.
Dexter graduated four of its five starters off of last season's squad that finished 27-4 and placed second in Class 4. All four of Dexter's graduates tallied more than 1,000 points in their high school careers for the Bearcats and signed to play college basketball after being part of their program's best season in school history last year.
"It's tough to replace what we lost with the four seniors, and also MaKayla Waldner since she's concentrating on soccer," Dexter coach Chad Allen, who was selected as the 2013-14 Semoball.com Coach of the Year, said. "We basically lost 90 percent of our scoring and the bulk of our rebounds. We are losing a lot on the offensive and defensive end both.
"But I feel like our two returning juniors in Melanie McKuin and Dakota Reynolds will step up and take the leading role on our team this year," Allen continued. "The past two years they've gotten a lot of experience at the varsity level. They are really good players. They can handle the ball well and shoot it well. I think those two will really step up this year and contribute.
"We also have two players who have come back out that played in the past, but didn't play last year in Karaline Keirsey and Katie Reiker," Allen added. "Keirsey's a junior and Reiker's a senior so we basically have four upperclassmen. We are young and will have some freshmen and sophomores that will play up this year that I think will help contribute a lot."
The Bearcats' varsity roster is composed of five-foot-ten senior Katie Reiker, five-foot-eleven junior Karaline Keirsey, five-foot-nine junior Melanie McKuin, five-foot-five junior Dakota Reynolds, five-foot-nine sophomore Harley Allen, five-foot-four sophomore Cheyenne Mosby, five-foot four sophomore Sydney Rogers, five-foot-eight freshman Hannah Thurmon and five-foot-ten freshman Krysten Garrison.
"We've got a junior, a couple sophomores and a couple freshmen with good size," Allen said. "I think we will be tall and athletic and have pretty good speed as well this year. With that mix I really think as the season progresses and we gain experience throughout the year we will get a lot better."
The Bearcats open its season with three tournament. Dexter competes in the Farmington Tournament Dec. 1-6, the Paragould Tournament Dec. 11-13 and the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic Dec. 18-23. Dexter's first home game is Jan. 8 against Farmington.
"We've got a really tough schedule," Allen said. "I think that will definitely help prepare us for the playoffs. If we are hitting on all cylinders by the end of the year I think we can make a good run."
Dexter plays Notre Dame Cape Girardeau Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and Jackson Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Farmington invitational. The team placing first in the three-team round robin plays in the championship Friday. The team placing second plays for third place and the team placing third plays for the consolation title.
"We are starting out with two tough SEMO Conference teams," Allen said of the Farmington Tournament. "Notre Dame lost basically all of their varsity experience. I know they had a good junior varsity team last year that is going to step up this year. Jackson primarily has everything back. Both teams will be really good. I watched them in a jamboree and to me they looked like they played pretty even. We will see where we are at once we play those teams and hopefully we will just keep getting better as the season progresses."
Dexter is slated to compete in Class 4, District 1 with Sikeston, Notre Dame, Cape Central, Kennett and Perryville at the end of the season. Sikeston will host the district. Notre Dame and Dexter have played each other in a district championship every year since 2009.
"It's always hard to come out of Class 4, District 1," Allen said. "Cape Notre Dame always puts a good product out there. They are well-coached. Sikeston has a lot of players back and their coach does a great job with them as well. It will definitely, again, be a tough district this year."
Allen hopes his incoming players benefit from past experience and be able to make a quick transition to varsity-level play.
"Since we've had the girls since junior high I feel like they know our system well," Allen said. "Even though we lost a lot I feel like the girls coming in know our system and like I said 'as the season goes on hopefully we'll keep getting better.'"
Puxico Indians
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
PUXICO, Mo. - The Puxico Indians varsity boys basketball program has the luxury of having a surplus of upperclassmen entering the 2014-15 season.
The Indians varsity roster is composed of five seniors, six juniors and two freshmen.
"It's nice to have some kids, especially that senior group, with some experience," Puxico first-year coach Nathan Walk said. "They played quite a bit last year."
Most of the upperclassmen saw significant playing time on a 2013 varsity squad that finished 14-11.
"Zack Tucker is back and has played for three or four years on varsity, Corey Pratt was the starting point guard last year, Seth Luttrull was the sixth man and Zack McCoy played quite a bit as the year progressed in the second half of last season," Walk said. "The juniors moving up are also pretty skilled. One of them will start - Chris Siler. He's a six-foot-two wing man who can stretch the floor and play inside. Jordan Burch is a six-four 280 pound junior. He's just a load inside. Chris Dunivan is another junior that played quite a bit on the junior varsity last season. The two freshmen will help us out as well."
The Indians have a six-foot four and six-foot five post player and three more players that are at least six-foot-two.
"So far they seem to rebound really well," Walk said. "From what I've seen so far we crash the offensive boards really well. Defensively, I think at times we rely too much on that length and size rather than blocking out. They will try to just go get it and that doesn't really work out against well-coached teams because you get blocked out all night."
Puxico has plenty to play for early in the season.
The Indians open its season Nov. 28 at the Current River Challenge in Van Buren against district foe Winona.
Winona finished second to Thayer in Puxico's district last season. Van Buren is slated to host Class 2, District 2, this year which features Alton, East Carter County, Greenville, Neelyville, Puxico, Thayer, Van Buren and Winona.
"The Winona game is probably going to be one of the biggest games of our season because they are a district opponent and I feel like if we can beat them and the teams in our area that are in our district we should have a pretty good shot at getting the one or two seed in our district," Walk said.
A couple days after the Indians take on Winona fourth-seeded Puxico could face another nail biter when it opens the eight-team Holcomb Invitational against fifth-seeded Campbell Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
"The Holcomb tournament really has an impact on what you get seeded at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament because five of the 16 teams are in it," Walk said. "Bernie is usually one of those tops seeds and I feel like if things go our way in the Holcomb Tournament we could possibly come out with a decent seed. You are not going to get one of the top four seeds with Kennett, South Pemiscot and Hayti, which are always up there at the top. But you could get a five to eight seed and I'd like our chances in the middle of the pack with anybody we play."
Walk added he does not believe there is a clearcut favorite in the SCAA this season.
"I think the conference is wide open this year," he said. "Bloomfield is really good, Bernie's always good and coach Dowdy has Dexter playing extremely well. Woodland got a new coach and the Beel kid moved in so they will be tough. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. I know that's a cliché to use, but this year I really think it's true."
Puxico Lady Indians
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
PUXICO, Mo. - The Puxico Indians high school girls basketball program enters the 2014-15 season looking to build on last season's 9-10 campaign.
The Indians return four of its five starters off of last season's high school squad.
"We are not real big so that's going to be a weakness of ours," Puxico coach Jordan Lindsay said. "Our strength is we've got good guards and have finally developed some good shooters."
The Puxico roster includes seniors Morgyn Nelson, Gabby Clark, Brenna Hancock; juniors Danielle Roberts and Danielle Daniel; sophomore Katelyn Pierre; and freshmen Kayt Haynes, Faith Oliver, Kambryn Collard, Shelby Richmond, Kylie Moore and Madison Caldwell.
Roberts and Clark were starting guards last season, Nelson started at center and Hancock was a starting forward.
Pierre also contributed about 12 points per game off the bench.
Lindsay expects contributions for a talented incoming freshman class.
"We've got six freshmen, and two of those freshmen will probably see quite a bit of varsity minutes," she said.
The Indians do not compete in a conference this season, but will compete in the Lady Devil Invitational at Chaffee in December and the Delta Tournament the second week of January.
Puxico is slated to compete in Class 2, District 2 at Van Buren with Alton, East Carter County, Greenville, Neelyville, Thayer and Van Buren at the end of the season.
"I feel like we are in one of the toughest districts in the state," Lindsay said. "Neelyville is going to be tough, regardless. Overall, the district is a good group of basketball teams. We've always struggled in our district, but this year we are hoping to get in the top half of the bracket."
Richland Rebels
By DUSTIN WARD
Daily Statesman
ESSEX, Mo. - The Richland Rebels high school basketbal program has the luxury of returning a rebounding machine, experienced ball-handler and spot on shooter off of last season's varsity squad.
Senior guard Skyler Harper, sophomore guard Preston TIlley and sophomore forward Josh Thornton all saw signifcant time on last season's varsity squad and are projected to continue to put up solid numbers this season.
Richland coach Matt Cline said: "Preston saw a lot of playing time last year and started a good portion of the year. He's getting stronger and shoots the ball pretty well. He's starting to guard a little bit better in practice. Josh Thornton is a great rebounder. Whereever the ball is he is there. Skyler kind of runs the show for us and will take care of the ball."
Cline said his program has two seniors, five sophomores and five freshmen entering this season.
"We got even younger than we were last year," Cline said. "We want to build on last year. Last year we were probably the youngest team in the area. We still may be, but as the year went on we made progress last year and we just want to keep moving forward."
Cline hopes to have more inside weapons this season.
"We are getting a little bit of size and in practice they are getting after it and learning how to guard," Cline said.
Richland opens its season Dec. 1 at the Oran Invitational against host Oran.
After the Oran Tournament, the Rebels play seven of their first 10 regular season games on the road. Five of Richland's final seven regular games are at home.
"We've got a challenge right off the bat," Cline said. "After we finish there we are on the road most of the time before Christmas and we are home heavy after Christmas, which is nice."
Richland's Class 1 district has a much different look this season.
Defending state champion Scott County Central has moved out of the district and into Class 2. Advance and Oran, which played each other in a Class 2 district title game last season, have dropped to Class 1 and moved into Richland's district. Traditional Tri-County Conference powerhouse Risco has also moved north into Richland's district. Leopold, which placed second in Richland's district last season, moved to another Class 1 district this year. Bell City, Delta, Oak Ridge and Fulton School at St. Albans remaing in Richland's district.
"We got rid of Scott County Central, but added quality teams in Advance, Oran, and Risco that are always well-coached," Cline said. "Bell City and Delta are also still in it and they've got quality players that are improving. I think everybody in the district is improving so it will be a tough district to get out of this year."