Sports
Class 1 Girls Basketball Players to Watch – Ozarks Sports Zone
By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Basketball season is underway in Missouri. Below are the area’s Class 3 Girls Basketball Players to Watch this year.
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Kerrigan Guerin, Chadwick Junior
Guerin is one half of what is the best backcourt in all of Class 1 and one of the top in the Ozarks. As a sophomore, she averaged 12.4 points 5.8 assists and 4.7 steals, earning All-Everything including conference and district POY honors. The ultimate barometer for point guards is wins and she’s put together a 46-12 record in her two years.
Raeleigh Little, Chadwick Junior
There’s nothing little about the 5-foot-6 guard’s impact as a sophomore, putting up 13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.3 steals. She is truly a two-way guard and she opened the season with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, picking up exactly where she left off last year.
India Willis, Macks Creek Junior
Willis has developed into one of the most complete players in the Ozarks. She’s a tall guard at 5-foot-9 that can really shoot it, but her strength also allows her to bully smaller guards off of the dribble or in the post. She averaged 21.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.9 assists as a sophomore. So far, she’s 2-for-2 on all-state selections.
Jacie Gavisk, Walnut Grove Junior
The basketball factory that is Walnut Grove continues to produce big-time talent and Gavisk has a chance to be among the best. The 6-foot junior was a double-double machine last year, including going for 28 points and 14 rebounds against Spokane and 26 points and 19 rebounds against East Newton. She’s an all-stater that has some really good basketball ahead of her.
Ellie Smith, Walnut Grove Junior
Smith also had a fantastic sophomore season, emerging as the next stud point guard at Walnut Grove on the heels of the Harmans and Faith Gilkey. Smith averaged 15.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.2 steals. Smith is the Kobe to Gavisk’s Shaq and they’re quickly becoming one of the most dominant duos in the Ozarks.
Chloe Pearson, Wheatland Senior
Pearson has been a mainstay in Wheatland’s current run, which has seen the program increase its win total each season since her freshman year. As a junior she averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals. She’s one of the best all-around players in the Polk County League.
Taylor Swarnes, Liberal Junior
The 5-foot-10 wing helped lead a surprising Liberal team to 17 wins last year, averaging 11 points and 7.2 rebounds. She’s also great at playing passing lanes and getting out in transition. She opened the season with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists in what could be the start of an All-State season.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Abby Barton & Ellaina LaNear, Liberal Seniors
Kiarah Blation, Wheatland Junior
Daphne Butterfield, Climax Springs Junior
Kenzie Clendenning, Billings Senior
Harley Guerin, Bradleyville Junior
Gabbi Hiebert, Thomas Jefferson Senior
Gabriel Kendall, Humansville Senior
Ashlynne Kirksey & Alexia Francka, Fair Play Senior & Junior
Adrien Neill, Lockwood Senior
Addison Ratliff & Brooklyn Duggan, Macks Creek Juniors
Jaema Schimmels & Madison Conrad, Hurley Juniors
Lily Todd & Holland Houston, School of the Ozarks
Kloee Williamson, McAuley Senior