Fair Grove girls' basketball wants target on back as it hopes to repeat as state champions
FAIR GROVE — For the longest time, the Fair Grove girls had to watch Strafford put together one of the greatest high school basketball dynasties the state had ever seen.
Good and great Fair Grove teams came and went without any hardware to show because it was constantly matched up with its rival. Thirteen-straight losses to Strafford included four defeats in postseason play in a streak that lasted for eight years; Strafford won state championships in five of them.
But the tides are turning and Fair Grove is trying to build a lengthy one of its own. The Lady Eagles have now won three straight games against its nemesis and junior guard Brooke Daniels couldn't stop smiling after a 59-46 win over Strafford on Thursday night.
"It's a great feeling," Daniels said. "You always love that feeling since our rivalry is so big. It's a great feeling, especially against them, it makes it even better."
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Fair Grove has played with a target on its back for the entirety of the 2023-24 season, a position the Lady Eagles haven't been used to. They're the reigning Class 3 state champions and have flip-flopped between being the No. 1 or 2 team in the state since the season tipped off.
It's the position that Fair Grove has embraced as it heads into postseason play. It's a team that lost one great senior from a year ago but still has plenty of experience that will be crucial in their quest to run it back.
"We're the hunted this year," Daniels said. "Last year, we were doing the hunting and trying to take down teams. This year, we're being hunted and it's a good feeling. We get to play with a chip on our shoulder and it's kind of nice."
The year started with having to replace their head coach as Jenny Talbert accepted the same gig at Nixa. Fair Grove turned to Gary Greene who had spent the previous two years coaching at Mansfield and Licking.
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Greene couldn't have walked into a better situation as he embraced a championship roster that only wanted to compete.
"They bought in from the start and showed up every day and went to work," Greene said. "There was never an issue of not buying in. The biggest thing is they compete and there's nothing that matters more than me than family and just being a competitor. These kids would have played for Ronald McDonald; it wouldn't have mattered."
Fair Grove embraced a challenging schedule that featured plenty of matchups with teams in bigger classes and those who were ranked near the top of the state in their respective classes.
Wins over West Plains, El Dorado Springs, Logan-Rogersville and Nixa have been among the highlights of the season. Their few losses have been to Class 6 No. 5 Rock Bridge, No. 3 Kickapoo and No. 10 Republic along with Class 2 No. 1 Skyline and Class 5 No. 6 Marshfield.
They've split their season series with current Class 3 No. 1 El Dorado Springs, the same team Fair Grove beat by two in last year's state championship game. The two could ultimately meet again in the same game, this time in Columbia.
"Our best game has yet to come," Greene said. "I'd like to see our best game be the next game and then after that, I'd like to see a better one."
Greene would like to see his team cut down on the turnovers but he knows it comes with how fast they play. He's been pleased with how many players have emerged throughout the season.
Replacing Kameron Green, who graduated after last season after averaging 16 points and nearly seven rebounds per game, has been no easy task. There is no pure dominant post player but junior Abbey Green was tough for Strafford to stop on Thursday. Senior Hannah Maxwell also had an efficient night while also knocking down a 3.
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Daniels and Ashton Bell, both juniors, have been among the area's top players since they were freshmen. They continue to lead the team as others have stepped up like Allison Findley and Shea Skouby.
"It's a gift for me to be able to come over here and coach these girls," Greene said. "It's one of the greatest opportunities I've ever had and I'm just honored to be here. I'm honored that they had the confidence to bring me in and I hope that I don't mess this up."
Fair Grove enters postseason play as Class 3, District 11's top seed. It awaits a quarterfinal winner between Catholic and Forsyth before potentially playing in a district championship against either Strafford, Sparta or Pleasant Hope.
Until then, the Lady Eagles will be itching to get back on the court. They're ready to get every team's best every time they take the floor as they look to start a little bit of a dynasty of their own.
"Why would we not want to play their best every night?" Daniels said. "It's just gonna make us better and make our run in the postseason sweeter."
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 X at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Fair Grove girls basketball looks to repeat as state champions
