By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Branson basketball returned to its winning ways last season.
The 13-12 Pirates finished with nine more victories in 2022, falling to Marshfield in the Class 5 District 5 tournament.
“Last year was a huge year for our girls and the program,” longtime head coach Kip Bough said. “The year before was our first season below .500 in 14 seasons, and the girls bounced back, came together as a team and defied expectations to go over the .500 mark again. That was huge for our girls and the future of our program.”
Graduates Chloe Grimm, Shelby Heil, Rachel Riveros, Joanna Lansman and Hadley Houston all departed the program in the offseason.
Grimm, an all-conference defensive team honoree, will join Heil this season at Hendrix College, where the pair will continue their basketball careers.
“Chloe was a four-year starter for us, and she was our heart and soul of the team,” Bough said. “Shelby played in the middle for us and did an excellent job for us on defense and rebounding.”
With a host of senior graduates moving on, once again, Bough finds himself managing a young team (with no seniors on the roster) heading into a new season; however, optimism abounds for the 16-year head coach.
“I wouldn’t let the fact that because we graduated so many last year scare you,” Bough said. “I am very excited about this next season. We have been waiting for this group to come along and now they are here and it’s their time.”
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The time is now a talented quartet of Branson juniors in Taylor Foster, Maci Rogers, Rylie Hagston and Lillie Sever.
Foster, a 6-foot forward, averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds last season and was an all-conference selection.
“We brought Taylor along slowly her freshman year but felt she could be a real impact player last year, and she was – rebounding, scoring defensively,” Bough said. “Taylor has the ability to change the game with her size and athleticism and she is ready to step into a starting role and be a major player.”
Rogers, a 5-foot-8 guard, emerged as a major roster component as a sophomore and is a pure shooter, according to Bough.
“Maci is a very smart player and is one of our better 3-point shooters,” Bough said. “She has a calmness about her that made her a necessary addition to the floor at the end of the game. Maci will probably be our primary ball handler, and she is ready to take over.”
Hagston, a 5-foot-8 guard, is a slasher who can also shoot from long range.
“Rylie is a very smart player who loves to attack the basket and shoot the 3,” Bough said. “She rebounds well and has a good defensive IQ. Rylie can shoot the ball from outside and attack the basket.”
Sever, a 5-foot-8 guard, is a defensive specialist for the Pirates.
“Lillie saw a lot of varsity action as a freshman and she saw considerable time last year,” Bough said. “She is a good three point shooter and ball handler and really excels on the defensive side of the ball.”
Branson will also benefit this season from Ellison Mehrhoff, a 5-foot-9 junior move-in from Spokane.
“Elli has the ability to play on the outside, she shoots the 3 really well and she can step into the post and play in the paint as well,” Bough said. “She is a very physical player who rebounds the ball well and has really gelled with the girls.”
The Pirates also welcome a host of varsity newcomers to the roster in junior Avery Crouse, junior Abby Deckard, junior Lindsay Gerleman, sophomore Jocelyn McQueen, junior Kylynn Hall, sophomore Aubree Williams, sophomore Sadie Lampe and sophomore Kaedyn Pierce.
“This group plays together as a group and as a team as well as any team I have ever coached – sometimes they are too unselfish,” Bough said. “They execute, they guard, they shoot the ball, they pass the ball and they rebound. We have depth, maybe the deepest team we have had at Branson in a long while and they get along on and off the court. We are mostly juniors and these girls haven’t started at the varsity level yet, however I really believe that we have the potential to be pretty good.”
If Branson is to continue building on its recent success, the Pirates will have to navigate a difficult Central Ozarks Conference and district schedule.
“Our conference is so tough that you can be good and still have a tough time winning many games in the C.O.C.,” Bough said. “We bumped down a district level last year but we had the Class 5 state champion in our district (West Plains) and Rolla who was state ranked and several very good teams. So we understand that our work is cut out for us this season, but we will gladly go into battle with these girls.”
Branson tips off its season Nov. 21 at home against Springfield Central.
