Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best girls basketball players of the 2021-22 season
Once again, a proud girls' basketball area saw plenty of incredible talent across gyms all throughout the Ozarks region.
Somehow, we narrowed our postseason team down to 12 when plenty more were deserving.
The News-Leader's second annual Dominant Dozen postseason list highlights the 12 best players from this past season. These players stood out above the rest as some led their teams to state championships while others put up big numbers throughout the season.
Observations and stats along with feedback from coaches across the area helped us decide who we thought this season's top 12 players were.
More: Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best boys basketball players of the 2021-22 season
The group is listed alphabetically by last name:
Riley Arnold, Blue Eye
Another year, another deep postseason run for Blue Eye led by one of the top athletes in southwest Missouri.
Arnold led Blue Eye to its third-straight third-place finish in the state tournament while leading the team with 16.1 points, six assists, three rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.
Her second-straight selection to this list doesn't come as a surprise as she's been dominant her entire career. Over her high school career, Blue Eye won four district titles with three third-place finishes and a 100-24 record.
Kaemyn Bekemeier, Republic
When her career comes to an end, Bekemeier will go down as one of the best players in a proud Republic history if not the best player.
This season, Bekemeier averaged 22.8 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists per game.
Bekemeier broke three major scoring records this season for the Lady Tigers with 639 points in a single season, a 48-point performance to top single-game scoring records she broke three times a year ago and broke the school's career scoring record with 1,613 points.
Oh, and she has one more year.
The Missouri State commit does a little bit of everything and is typically the best athlete on every court she steps on. Her scoring ability is phenomenal and she makes those around her better.
The two-time selection should be the first three-time selection once next season ends while also having a shot at winning a player of the year honor.
Destiny Buerge, Carl Junction
Not many players have put up the numbers Buerge has over the last few seasons and she's continued to stand out for a proud Carl Junction girls basketball program.
Buerge averaged 22.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.9 assists per game this year. The Lady Bulldogs went 23-8 this year and won a district before falling to eventual Class 5 state champion West Plains in the state quarterfinals.
Buerge has been a scoring machine for CJHS as she's averaging 23.6 points over her career. That should continue into her senior year.
Emma Compton, Strafford
Strafford kept its program among the best in the area and it had Compton leading the way on both ends of the floor.
Compton, perhaps the quickest player in the area, was a playmaker offensively in addition to setting the tone defensively.
Her effort defensively was followed by the rest of her teammates en route to a third-place finish in Class 3. Strafford's postseason loss came in a two-point defeat to eventual state champion El Dorado Springs. Strafford followed the next day with a 30-point beatdown of West County as the team only allowed 41.3 points per game all season.
Compton averaged 9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.9 steals per game. She also has a pair of state titles to her name as she finished out a great career.
Macie Conway, Nixa
Nixa went from a 13-14 record in 2020 to two straight 20-win seasons with the Lady Eagles being among the top teams in the state.
Conway arrived just in time for those two seasons including a 24-5 year in 2021-22 while leading the way for the Lady Eagles.
Conway averaged 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game on what might have been the most complete girls basketball team in the region. She could have had bigger numbers on her own but her unselfishness and the great play from others had Nixa as a threat every time it stepped on the floor.
Conway, a two-time selection, definitely made her mark in Nixa the last two seasons.
Bella Fontleroy, Kickapoo
One of the great players to ever come through southwest Missouri, Fontleroy's incredible career at Kickapoo came to an end after another standout season.
The Gatorade Player of the Year averaged 23.4 points and 11 rebounds and led the Lady Chiefs to a runner-up finish in Class 6 this season.
Her accolades piled up this season while also being named Miss Show-Me Basketball, Class 6 All-state, the co-Ozark Conference Player of the Year, first-team All-Ozark Conference and a Class 6, District 5 honor.
For as productive as she was on the court, Fontleroy was also special when it came to making her teammates better. She easily could have averaged 30 or more points per game but she put an emphasis on raising the team as a whole and it paid off as Kickapoo finished its season in the state title game.
Claudia Hadlock, Miller
Hadlock's Miller career comes to an end with another standout season and her fourth consecutive year helping lead the Cardinals to a season with 22 wins or more along with a district championship.
Hadlock remained among the area's best averaging 18 points, six rebounds and three assists per game.
A remarkable four years for Miller ended with her scoring 431 or more points each season. She's been among the area's elite every season she stepped on the floor.
Ashton Judd, West Plains
A year after coming up short in the state championship game, Judd led the Lady Zizzers back and to a dominant title win.
Judd, the Class 5 Player of the Year and co-Ozark Conference Player of the Year, averaged 26.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. This is her second appearance in the Dominant Dozen.
Judd scored 30 points with 11 boards in the state semifinals before going for 20 and six in the state championship. The Mizzou commit is also committed to the defensive end and saw it pay off all season en route to hoisting the Class 5 championship trophy.
Ali Kamies, Nixa
Nixa's success this season also included a standout season from Kamies — who will join Conway at Rockhurst next season as they start their collegiate careers together.
Kamies averaged 14.5 points, three rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game on one of the best teams in the area.
We've seen how much damage the Nixa backcourt of Conway and Kamies can do throughout the Ozarks the last two years. Other college programs are about to find out as well.
Raegan McCowan, Lebanon
McCowan continued to establish herself as one of the area's best this season as she built off a strong sophomore year.
McCowan averaged 19.5 points and 8.6 rebounds on 55 percent shooting this season. She was the star player on a team that had its best season since 2017 with a 20-7 record. The Lady Jackets averaged 65 points per game this season with 46.3 points against.
With a lot of upcoming turnover coming in Lebanon next season with star players graduating, Lebanon should be a threat entering McCowan's senior year.
Riah Robinson, Clever
One of the top shooters in the region, Robinson finished off a historic career at Clever this season as one of the top players in the area.
Robinson averaged 21.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 37 percent from deep. The Class 3 All-State performer helped lead the Blue Jays to their first district title since 1992.
Reese Schaaf, El Dorado Springs
Schaaf's career went out with her being a state champion, as the Class 3 Player of the Year and with a spot in our Dominant Dozen.
Schaaf was outstanding all season long as she averaged 19.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game for the Class 3 state champions. The Drury signee scored 19 points with 17 rebounds during a two-point state semifinal win over Strafford before turning in a 15-point, nine-rebound game to win the championship.
Her career ends with El Dorado Springs winning 24 or more games in each of the last two seasons and the program's first state title since 2014.
Next Dozen
Brielle Adamson, Willard
Avery Arnold, Blue Eye
Savannah Campbell, Rolla
Hannah Gibbons, Greenwood
Cassidy Hambelton, Dora
Bre Hurd, Waynesville
Alyssa Joyner, West Plains
Tara Masten, Parkview
Macie Mays, El Dorado Springs
Khloe Moad, Ash Grove
Ellie Smith, Walnut Grove
Kianna Yates, Carthage
Honorable Mention
Brittany Gilland, Ash Grove
Kaya Goldsby, Kickapoo
Kameron Green, Fair Grove
Kaylee Helton, Miller
Laney Humble, Strafford
Logan Jones, Mansfield
Peyton Kincaid, Camdenton
Moriah Putt, Ozark
McKinley Sanders, Hartville
Heaven Shockley, Central
Kyla Warren, Blue Eye
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Dominant Dozen: Ozarks girls basketball postseason team 2021-22
