Who is Dancing? The NCAA DII WBB Postseason
There are 38 local ladies playing on 11 teams in the DII WBB NCAA Tournament. These ladies have made a huge impact as 7 of those teams are ranked in the top 18 teams in the nation.
Are players good because of the team for which they play? We know that’s not true. We know teams are good because of the players. WBB players from Missouri and Kansas have propelled their DII teams to the national ranks. The local talent in the NCAA DII postseason are on these ranked teams.
No. 2 Drury University
No. 4 Glenville State University
No. 9 Union University-Tennessee
No. 10 Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney
No. 11 Univ. of Central Missouri
No. 15 Tuskegee University
No. 18 Missouri Southern State University
Take a look at the No. 2 ranked Drury Panthers. Their five starters are:
Kaylee DaMitz-Holt - Graduate student from Skyline
Alana Findley - Senior from Fair Grove
Terrion Moore - Graduate Student from Leavenworth
Allie Clevenger - Junior from Clever
Mia Henderson - Senior from Benton
The first lady off the Panther bench is Reese Schaaf who just last year was an El Dorado Springs Bulldog. Reese is her conference’s Freshman of the Year.
It’s not just the Panthers. Our local talent will make its impact throughout the WBB DII postseason.
Let’s take a look at the 39 ladies who are dancing, and their teams.
Glenville State College
The 29 and 2 Pioneers are in the tournament as the champion of the Mountain East Conference. They will play Elizabeth City State at 5:00 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connection:
Tor’e Alford - Junior - Derby - Glenville State College - Mountain East Conference
Tor’e has played in 23 games, starting 9. She averages 6.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
West Virginia State
Like Glenville State, West Virginia State is a member of the Mountain East Conference. The Yellow Jackets earned an at large berth in the tournament. They will take on Shippensburg at 7:30 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connection:
Alana Kramer - Graduate - Junction City - West Virginia State - Mountain East Conference
Alana has played in 28 games, stating 5 for the Yellow Jackets. Despite playing fewer than 16 minutes per game, she got 48 steals this season.
University of Central Missouri
Central Missouri is an at large team after losing to Missouri Southern in the Mid-America Athletic Association tournament. The 25 and 4 Jennies are ranked No. 11 nationally. They will take on Minnesota State at 7:30 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections:
Kade Hackerott - Sophomore RS - Goddard - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Kade is averaging 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore is a CSC Academic All-District honoree
Brooke Littrell - Sophomore RS - Green City - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Brooke is averaging 19.7 points and 8.9 boards per outing. She is the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year.
Alyssa Morris - Sophomore RS - Odessa - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assocition
Alyssa has played in 15 games, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Olivia Nelson - Sophomore RS - Liberty - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Olivia is a CSC Academic All-District honoree along with being awarded the conference “A Game” Scholar Award. She was named to the conference All-Defensive Team and the conference Second Team. She is third in her conference in assists per game and fifth in assist to turnover ration and minutes playerd per game.
Cierra Smith - Freshman - Grandview - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
As a freshman, Cierra has averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Ali Vigil - Sophomore RS - Piper - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Ali has played in 25 games this year. She averages 3.3 points per game, hitting all 9 of her free-throws for the season.
University of Nebraska-Kearney
Pittsburg State University
Nebraska-Kearney will take their national No. 10 ranking into the tournament as an at-large team following their loss to Missouri Southern in the conference tournament. That was a heck of a conference tournament with the nation’s No. 10 (Nebraska-Kearney), No. 11 (Central Missouri), and No. 18 (Missouri Southern) teams in the field.
The Lopes of Nebraska-Kearney will take on Pittsburg State at 2:30 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections are:
Elisa Backes - Fifth Year - Salina Central - Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Elisa is a CSC Academic All-District honoree. She was placed on her conference’s Third Team after having the 4th highest 3 PT shooting percentage and the 5th most blocked shots per game.
Lexi Moes - Junior RS - Smithville - Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Lexi has played in 16 games, averaging 3.9 points per game while shooting 84% from the line and 57% from the field.
Savannah Campbell - Freshman - Rolla - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The freshman played in 20 games, scoring 40 points and pulling down 41 rebounds.
Erin Davis - Graduate - Truman - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Erin played in 27 games, starting 25. She averaged 7.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Tristan Gegg - Graduate - Labette County - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Tristan is a CSC Academic All-District honoree. Her conference No. 2 Three point shooting percentage helped her to be placed on the conference Second Team. She led the Gorillas with 14.9 points per game.
Karenna Gerber - Sophomore - Halstead - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Kerenna has the conference’s highest field goal shooting percentage and the third highest blocked shots per game. That led her to be placed on the conference’s Third Team.
Sydney Holmes - Sophomore - Maize - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Sydney played in 25 games this year, starting 2. She averaged 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Shayla Kohler - Sophomoe RS - Platte County - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The former Pirate played in 2 games this year, scoring 4 points and pulling down 5 rebounds.
Grace Pyle - Sophomore - McPherson - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Starting all 27 games, Grace averaged 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is an Honorable Mention All-conference honoree.
Harper Schreiner - Freshman - Eudora - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Harper had an outstanding Freshman year. Her 86% free throw shooting was tops in the conference while she had the second most assists per game. That, along with averagintg 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per outing, earned her honorable mention all conference and the conference’s Freshman of the Year award.
Jenna Shipley - Sophomore RS - Adrian - Pittsburg State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Jenna played in 27 games, scoring 4.9 points and pulling down 3.6 rebounds per game
Missouri Southern State University
Missouri Southern is their conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament after having upset two nationally ranked teams in the conference tournament. The Lions are now ranked No. 18 nationally. They will play 25 and 5 Augustana (SD) at noon on Friday. You can follow the game here.
Local connections are:
Cameron Call - Senior - Mount Vernon - Missouri Southern State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Cameron played in 27 games, starting 1. She averaged 2.7 points and 1.3 boards per game.
Layne Skiles - Senior - Purdy - Missouri Southern State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Layne is a CSC Academic All-District honoree. Her 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game helped her earn conference honorable mention status.
Lacy Stokes - Sophomore - Mount Vernon - Missouri Southern State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Lacy had an outstanding sophomore year. She is on her conference’s All-Defensive Team and First Team. She led her conference in assists per game. Her assist to turnover ratio is the fifth best in the country. She also had the third most steals per game in the conference. She led the Lions in scoring with 16 points per game.
Madison Stokes - Junior RS - Cassville - Missouri Southern State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Madison was named to the conference’s honorable mention and all-defensive teams. She had the second most blocked shots in the conference.
Tuskegee University
The Golden Lions earned their way into the NCAA tournament by winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. They will play the University of Tampa on Friday at 4:00. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Jasmine Manual - Sophomorre - Rockwood Summit - Tuskegee Univ. - Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Jasmine played in 18 games, starting 2, while averaging 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Union University-Tennessee
The Bulldogs enter the NCAA Tournament as the champion of the Gulf South Conference. They will play Valdosta State at 11:00 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Leah Cauble - Senior - Oran - Union Univ-Tennessee - Gulf South Conference
Leah averaged 7.5 points per game while shooting 85% from the line.
University of South Carolina-Aiken
USC-Aiken is an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament and will play Georgia Southwestern at 11:00 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Jentri Worley - Sophomore RS - Neelyville - Univ. of South Carolina-Aiken - Peach Belt Conference
Jentri is a CSC Academic All-District honoree. Her 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game earned her Third Team all-conference honors
Regis University-CO
Regis enters the NCAA Tournament as the champion of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They will play Black Hills State University at noon on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections are:
Mary Crossland - Freshman - Blue Valley North - Regis Univ.-CO - Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Mary played in 10 games this year, scoring 4 points and getting 4 rebounds.
Kyla Frenchers - Freshman - Maize - Regis Univ.-CO - Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The freshman played in 25 games, averaging 2.9 points per contest.
Drury University
Drury is 30 and 1 and is ranked No. 2 in the county. They won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament and will face Lewis University, the team they defeated in their conference championship game, at 1:30 on Friday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections are:
Madi Braden - Sophomore - Ozark - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Madi played in 18 games, scoring 32 points and getting 6 rebounds.
Allie Clevenger - Junior - Clever - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Allie is a conference Sportsmanship Honoree. She starter all 27 games for the No. 2 ranked Panthers, averaging 7.8 points per game.
Kaylee DaMitz-Holt - Graduate - Skyline - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Kaylee is a CSC Academic All-District honoree. She led her team with 16.5 points per game, which was the fourth highest in her conference. She also had the fourth most assists per game and the third highest assist to turnover ratio. All of that led to her being named to the conference First Team
Alana Findley - Senior - Fair Grove - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Alana ia a CSC Academic All-District honoree. Her 14.7 points per game was second on her team while her 5.7 rebound average was tops fot the Panthers. She was first in her conference in steals per game. All of that led to her being named to the conference First Team.
Rhi Gibbons - Freshman - Nixa - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
The freshman played in 21 games, averaging 3.6 points per game.
Mia Henderson - Senior - Benton - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Mia started 25 games this year, averaging 6.7 points per game. Her 56.5% shooting from the field was tops in her conference.
Anna Hitt - Sophomore - Ozark - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Anna played in 23 games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game
Terrion Moore - Graduate - Leavenworth - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Terrrion is second in the conference in steals per game which led her to be named the conference Defensive Player of the Year. Adding her 13 points per game and her fourth best assist to turnover ratio, she was named to the conference First Team.
Aiden Moxness - Sophomore - Shawnee Mission West - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Aiden played in 16 games, scoring 19 points and getting 20 rebounds.
Reece Schaaf - Freshman - El Dorado Springs - Drury University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Reece played in all 27 games this year as a freshman. She shot 50% from the field and 77% from the line. That resulted in 8.4 points per game, being placed on the conference Third Team, and being named the conference Freshman of the Year.