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Willow Springs & the SCA

ChaoticFanatic

Well-Known Member
Mar 12, 2009
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THE OZARKS
Now the my point of view here is as a homer, but it’s how I see things.

Willow Springs is currently 8-4 with a starting 5 of 1 senior and 4 sophomores and a freshman “6th man”
They have 2 girls who have scored over 30 points in a game.
Atwell(senior) dropped 30 against Plato in the Mtn Grove Tournament, Jones(soph) dropped 40 against the host team in the 5th place game the next night, both games that they won.

Of their 4 losses:

1. Lost to Class 4 #1 Doniphan(10-0) beginning of year
2. Class 2 #11 Alton(10-1)by 20 beginning of year
3. Class 2 #11 Alton(10-1) by 6 right before tournament(Alton also beat C3#8 Licking by 30 in the Mtn Grove tournament championship last week, idk how they haven’t cracked the Top 10 in Class 2)
4. Lost to conference foe Liberty by 6 for their only loss in the tournament, with their best player on the bench 10 of the 16 minutes in the 2nd half

The next month will tell us a lot about this Willow team and a lot about how the SCA is going to pan out.


1/2: home against Liberty(5-6)
Lady Bears get a chance to avenge their only MG Tourny loss at home i their SCA opener

1/4: @ Class 3 #8 Licking(10-1)
On the road against one of the best teams in BFE and a fellow Class 3 school

1/8: home against Thayer(7-4)
If Willow beats Liberty on Tuesday, this game against Thayer could potentially determine the SCA crown, I said potentially, because Willow would still have to play Grove again, who they beat by 14 in the MG Tourny(Grove was missing a starter)

1/11: @ Salem(3-10)
Should be a no-brainer W for Willow, Salem lost to Ava in the MG tournament just a few days after Willow beat Ava by 30

1/22: home against Class 2 #12 Norwood(10-2)
Both of Norwoods losses have been to Alton, including losing to the Comets by 2 in the winners consolation bracket in the MG tournament

1/25-1/27: Lady Tiger Invitational
I don’t know anything about this tournament, but I think it’s in Seymour? Don’t know what the level of competition will be.

2/1: home against Mountain Grove(9-3)
Another rematch from the MG tournament where Willow defeated the Lady Panthers by 14. I think this game will end up being very close if both teams are healthy.

Overall, for January, the matchups against Liberty, Thayer, and Grove means that more than likely we will know who the conference champ will be in the next 31 days.

ignoring Salem, the combined record of Willows scheduled opponents now through February 1st is 41-15 I believe and 10 of those losses come from 2 of the 5 opponents.

But the matchups against Licking, Thayer, Norwood, and Grove are probably the 4 toughest opponents left on the remainder of the schedule.

I truly believe Willow wins a minimum of 20 games this season, probably more like 21 wins or more, potentially.

They will have a first round bye in districts(6 team district) and will be playing for a district championship(against Licking).



SCA CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS

1. Thayer
2. Willow Springs
3. Mountain Grove
4. Liberty
(The race for 2nd-4th should be extremely close)
5. Ava
6. Salem
7. Houston
8. Cabool

I wouldn’t be completely shocked if 2nd-4th place ends up flipped or mismatched from where I have it. Those 3 teams are very close in my mind(for now) and as I said, I’m a homer for two Howell County schools in particular as most on here know.

The separation between the top 4 and the bottom 4 is SO wide.


Now, Thayer isn’t ranked in Class 2(they should be)
Their 7-4 record is deceiving, they played Arkansas teams only the first 7 games of the season going 4-3 through that stretch(3-3 against Varsity teams) they played some very tough opponents and some were much larger schools.
Thayer just went 3-1 in the P&W in Springfield, losing to Class 6 Glendale by 5 in the opening round, then winning out in the consolation, including a 3 point win over Class 1 #5 Chadwick and a 25 point win over Class 5 #15 Bolivar
Thayer plays Mountain Grove the same night that Willow plays Licking, so that should help even more with getting a gauge on the Bobcats


What are your thoughts, Tad? You always seem to be very well informed as far as the SCA goes.
 
I agree with a lot of what you say. Definitely agree that the top 4 and the bottom 4 are pretty much set in the SCA.

I do not see anyone touching Thayer as I have said before. They are IMO 20 pts better than the other teams in the top 4.

Liberty, Willow and Grove could finish in any order. Grove was without their best player during the Christmas tournament. So when they have her I could see them getting some revenge on Willow and challenging Liberty in their game.

I have not seen Cabool play, but their record is pretty bad. I saw Houston last week and they were terrible. Definitely would pencil those two in for 7th and 8th

In regard to Willow I would say they have the potential to win 20 games, but with their youth they are still going to have some bumps along the way. I would probably say I would think 17-18 wins maybe a win total. Either way it should be a really good showing for a team that is so young.

Liberty to me is the wildcard in all of this. They have the talent to give anyone a close game, but history has also shown they tend to implode at some point too. Their record is a little deceiving as they have played some real tough games. Doniphan, Alton, Chadwick, East Carter, Licking and Norwood. Their coach looks to be really young, maybe fresh out of college? They had an experienced guy in Ernst the last few years and still tended to implode. Can she bring what is needed to correct that? Time will tell.

The Lady Tiger Invitational is also on Libertys schedule. So they could meet up with Willow again in that tournament.
 
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I thought I had mentioned that Grove was missing a player when they played Willow, but I must not have. I had meant to. Everyone I talked to said that she wasn’t their top scorer but was their best athlete and 2 way player.

One think working in Willows favor is that they have Liberty, Thayer, Norwood and Grove all at home. Couldn’t ask for better odds than that.

I won’t be at the Liberty game tomorrow, but Willow has been streaming the home games so I’ll watch that. And then I should be at their licking and Thayer games.
 
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It is probably debatable whether she is Groves best player. She is their stud volleyball player. Possibly the best pure athlete in the SCA right now. But basketball is not really her focus. She would have to make a difference if nothing else on the defensive end.

Definitely a nice bonus for Willow to have all those games at home.
 
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It is probably debatable whether she is Groves best player. She is their stud volleyball player. Possibly the best pure athlete in the SCA right now. But basketball is not really her focus. She would have to make a difference if nothing else on the defensive end.

Definitely a nice bonus for Willow to have all those games at home.
If Willows supporting cast keeps coming along(they’ve made great strides), come districts, Willow is going to be a load.

Jones is averaging around 24ppg give or take
Atwell is averaging about 15ppg(but we’ve seen she can score a lot more)
The rest of the sophomores have been coming along well with rebounding and steals and just defense in general, but are still a work in progress.
Stuart(soph) has been racking up the steals. I’m not privy to the star book but wouldn’t be shocked if she was averaging 3-4 steals a game. Saw a game in the grove tournament where she had 3-4 in one quarter I believe.
Willows length in the younger members of their rotation is a big asset.
 
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Now the my point of view here is as a homer, but it’s how I see things.

Willow Springs is currently 8-4 with a starting 5 of 1 senior and 4 sophomores and a freshman “6th man”
They have 2 girls who have scored over 30 points in a game.
Atwell(senior) dropped 30 against Plato in the Mtn Grove Tournament, Jones(soph) dropped 40 against the host team in the 5th place game the next night, both games that they won.

Of their 4 losses:

1. Lost to Class 4 #1 Doniphan(10-0) beginning of year
2. Class 2 #11 Alton(10-1)by 20 beginning of year
3. Class 2 #11 Alton(10-1) by 6 right before tournament(Alton also beat C3#8 Licking by 30 in the Mtn Grove tournament championship last week, idk how they haven’t cracked the Top 10 in Class 2)
4. Lost to conference foe Liberty by 6 for their only loss in the tournament, with their best player on the bench 10 of the 16 minutes in the 2nd half

The next month will tell us a lot about this Willow team and a lot about how the SCA is going to pan out.


1/2: home against Liberty(5-6)
Lady Bears get a chance to avenge their only MG Tourny loss at home i their SCA opener

1/4: @ Class 3 #8 Licking(10-1)
On the road against one of the best teams in BFE and a fellow Class 3 school

1/8: home against Thayer(7-4)
If Willow beats Liberty on Tuesday, this game against Thayer could potentially determine the SCA crown, I said potentially, because Willow would still have to play Grove again, who they beat by 14 in the MG Tourny(Grove was missing a starter)

1/11: @ Salem(3-10)
Should be a no-brainer W for Willow, Salem lost to Ava in the MG tournament just a few days after Willow beat Ava by 30

1/22: home against Class 2 #12 Norwood(10-2)
Both of Norwoods losses have been to Alton, including losing to the Comets by 2 in the winners consolation bracket in the MG tournament

1/25-1/27: Lady Tiger Invitational
I don’t know anything about this tournament, but I think it’s in Seymour? Don’t know what the level of competition will be.

2/1: home against Mountain Grove(9-3)
Another rematch from the MG tournament where Willow defeated the Lady Panthers by 14. I think this game will end up being very close if both teams are healthy.

Overall, for January, the matchups against Liberty, Thayer, and Grove means that more than likely we will know who the conference champ will be in the next 31 days.

ignoring Salem, the combined record of Willows scheduled opponents now through February 1st is 41-15 I believe and 10 of those losses come from 2 of the 5 opponents.

But the matchups against Licking, Thayer, Norwood, and Grove are probably the 4 toughest opponents left on the remainder of the schedule.

I truly believe Willow wins a minimum of 20 games this season, probably more like 21 wins or more, potentially.

They will have a first round bye in districts(6 team district) and will be playing for a district championship(against Licking).



SCA CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS

1. Thayer
2. Willow Springs
3. Mountain Grove
4. Liberty
(The race for 2nd-4th should be extremely close)
5. Ava
6. Salem
7. Houston
8. Cabool

I wouldn’t be completely shocked if 2nd-4th place ends up flipped or mismatched from where I have it. Those 3 teams are very close in my mind(for now) and as I said, I’m a homer for two Howell County schools in particular as most on here know.

The separation between the top 4 and the bottom 4 is SO wide.


Now, Thayer isn’t ranked in Class 2(they should be)
Their 7-4 record is deceiving, they played Arkansas teams only the first 7 games of the season going 4-3 through that stretch(3-3 against Varsity teams) they played some very tough opponents and some were much larger schools.
Thayer just went 3-1 in the P&W in Springfield, losing to Class 6 Glendale by 5 in the opening round, then winning out in the consolation, including a 3 point win over Class 1 #5 Chadwick and a 25 point win over Class 5 #15 Bolivar
Thayer plays Mountain Grove the same night that Willow plays Licking, so that should help even more with getting a gauge on the Bobcats


What are your thoughts, Tad? You always seem to be very well informed as far as the SCA goes.
Do they list more than the top 10 in the polls these days?
 
Well Liberty just beat Willow so I was right about 2-4 being interchangeable.

This was the only conference matchup tonight I believe. Salem and Houston we’re both playing non cons.
 
Several SCA teams playing tonight

Liberty at Doniphan - Doniphan by 15

Willow at Licking - Licking by 10

Grove at Thayer - Thayer by 25

Ava at Cabool - Ava by 12

Salem at Houston - Salem by 15

And for good measure

West Plains at Glendale - Glendale by 8
 
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I’ll be in licking tonight for the Lady Bears game. I’m hoping they can put it all together tonight and get some more confidence heading into their home matchup with Thayer on Monday.
 
Several SCA teams playing tonight

Liberty at Doniphan - Doniphan by 15

Willow at Licking - Licking by 10

Grove at Thayer - Thayer by 25

Ava at Cabool - Ava by 12

Salem at Houston - Salem by 15

And for good measure

West Plains at Glendale - Glendale by 8
Haven't seen a Salem/Houston score yet, but got all of the other SCA games right even getting the score difference exact on Liberty/Doniphan and Ava/Cabool. Was 1 pt off in the Thayer/Grove game. Was pretty far off on Willow and Licking. And I surprised by the West Plains score. Maybe they are putting it together.
 
Thayer wrapped up the SCA tonight.

Really good OT battle in Mtn View with Mtn Grove getting the win to secure the 2nd spot. Liberty had their chances to put game away and just couldnt get a few shots to fall. Grove is athletic and played extremely hard.

Tough week to end the season for Liberty, losing to Thayer and Grove.
 
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Thayer wrapped up the SCA tonight.

Really good OT battle in Mtn View with Mtn Grove getting the win to secure the 2nd spot. Liberty had their chances to put game away and just couldnt get a few shots to fall. Grove is athletic and played extremely hard.

Tough week to end the season for Liberty, losing to Thayer and Grove.

I really thought Liberty was going to finish 2nd.

Willow won by around 30 over Houston tonight and they definitely took it easy on the tigers, getting the bench players involved early and often.

As we all said earlier in the year, the gap between the top 4 teams and the bottom 4 teams was HUGE this year.

Willow didn’t fare as well as I hoped in SCA play, but they did play Liberty to a 6 pt game in a tournament early on in the season and beat grove in their own tournament earlier in the year as well, and they may have gave Thayer their toughest first 3 quarters in conference play(being down 1 pt headed into the 4Q), though they did lose pretty handily to both MG and Liberty in official conference play.

Willow still has Cabool which barring any major letdowns, they should have 4th place locked up.

1. Thayer
2. Grove
3. Liberty
4. Willow

I think these will also end up being the top 4 next year more than likely, but who knows in what order.
 
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