Springfield girls basketball Class 4 districts preview: Schedule, top players, predictions
The larger classes will begin high school basketball postseason play across southwest Missouri this week.
Classes 4-6 will tip off district play on Monday all across the area. We went through and provided the brackets, top teams, players to watch and predictions for each local district.
Check MSHSAA.org for the most accurate times and brackets throughout the postseason.
SPRINGFIELD AREA GIRLS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEWS: Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6
SPRINGFIELD AREA BOYS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEWS: Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6
Class 4
No. 1 team: Doniphan
The undefeated Donettes are coming off back-to-back 24-plus win seasons with district championships. They're scoring more points than they ever have and playing their best defense over the stretch. They've earned their top ranking with their dominant play. Multiple players are capable of standing out for the Donettes on any given night. Kenzie Redus has been the team's most consistent scorer.
District 11 at Mountain Grove
Feb. 26
No. 4 Reeds Spring vs. No. 5 Buffalo
No. 3 Ava vs. No. 6 Hollister
Feb. 28
No. 1 Logan-Rogersville vs. 4/5
No. 2 Mountain Grove vs. 3/6
March 1
Championship at 7 p.m.
Team to beat: Logan-Rogersville. One of the best, young teams in the Ozarks is the overwhelming favorite to win this district. The Wildcats have been on fire in recent weeks when playing teams at its competition which included a 22-point victory over this district's two-seed to end the year. A 20-win season is within grasp for a program that hasn't done so since 2019 when it finished third in the state. Reagan Rasmussen has been among the best young players in the area over the last two years with Hailey Buckman, Eden Kibby and Taylor Wray rounding out an impressive sophomore class that's going to make this team competitive for years to come.
Next best: Mountain Grove. The Lady Panthers are the only other team with a winning record and more than seven wins in the district. They were playing their best ball up until hosting Logan-Rogersville in a 73-51 loss on Feb. 19. They'll need to make up some ground if they're going to upset the Wildcats.
Prediction: Logan-Rogersville over Mountain Grove.
District 12 at Mount Vernon
Feb. 26
No. 4 Cassville vs. No. 5 East Newton
No. 3 Mount Vernon vs. No. 6 Seneca
Feb. 28
No. 1 Aurora vs. 4/5
No. 2 Monett vs. 3/6
March 1
Championship at 7 p.m.
Team to beat: Aurora. The Lady Houns are a year removed from their first district title since 2012 and are the favorites to repeat. They've blown out every other team in this district, including a 77-42 win over Monett on Dec. 7. Only two of their losses came to an in-state program which was at Class 5 No. 6 Marshfield on Jan. 8 and McDonald County to close the regular season. Those games seemed to make Aurora better as it has momentum heading into postseason play. The No. 6 team in Class 4 features a stud in junior Kylee Cole along with Kena Hall and Jaelyn Ernest. This is the first Aurora team to have consecutive 20-win seasons since 1990 and 1991.
Next best: Monett. The Lady Cubs are better than what they were when they were the first time they played Aurora but they only have two wins this season against teams with a winning record and they both came before Dec. 19. This is the only other team in the district with a record above .500.
Prediction: Aurora over Monett.
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: Springfield high school girls basketball Class 4 districts preview
