Before their last game, the girls rewrote the recordbook, posting a winning season each of their last four years. The previous year, in 2015-2016 they won two games, but under Les New, they showed immediate improvement in the 2016-2017 season. Playing in the first game of the totally revamped gym, with totally different scenery, the Tigers put up the most points they had posted in recent memory, beating Princeton 76-56. Anna Gladstone and Regan Allee, both freshmen, each scored 24 in the win. The losing coach, NEN grad Brian Hall, didn’t even think his squad played badly; “We’ll win a lot of games scoring 56 points,” he said at the time.
Despite the early fireworks, things did not improve right away, as the Tigers started off 5-10, getting schooled by the likes of Stanberry, Mount Ayr (60-14), North Andrew, and other powerhouse schools. But all of a sudden, they started finding their stride, winning three in a row after the Stanberry Tournament. They held off Grace Schottel and King City, winning by 42-39; they had another epic battle with North Nodaway, in which Worth County looked finished twice and North Nodaway looked finished twice. But it was Worth County who came on top by four 43-39.
The Tigers kept right on winning, dropping games only to East Atchison in the Northwest Missouri Tournament and North Harrison, with Payton Craig and Brandy Rivet. Along the way, Regan Allee broke the single game scoring record, hitting 11 3-pointers and scoring 35 points to lead the Tigers to victory over Nodaway-Holt. She broke the record held by Becky Fletcher, her aunt, who scored 33 points in an epic scoring duel with North Harrison’s Tracy Parkhurst, who had 31 as Worth County won 63-61.
Worth County rolled into districts, in which they hadn’t won a game in 11 years, since Tiffany Troutwine’s senior year. They were pitted against East Harrison, whom they had beaten 67-38 earlier in the year, but who had shown a lot of improvement under Bill Pottorff, one of the most colorful coaches in the area.
The Bobcats kept hanging around as Worth County missed a ton of shots. But the Tigers hung on for the 50-42 win, their first district win in 11 years. Now, they were pitted against North Harrison, who had beaten them earlier in the year in the same building. But it was Worth County who got off to the hot start.
However, Payton Craig carried the Shamrocks on her shoulder, and by the fourth quarter, Worth County’s lead was gone and the game went into double overtime. A win would give the Tigers a winning season for the first time since the 2005-2006 season. But in the second overtime frame, with Worth County up 52-50, Anna Gladstone missed both free throws with six seconds left and it looked like Worth County would have to play defense one more time. But in the twinkling of an eye, the game was over, as Jessi Badell put back her miss and Worth County won 54-50 and got their winning season, finishing at 14-13 after starting off at 5-10. They had won 9 out of their last 12, being stopped only by the eventual state champion Mercer squad.
From there on out, Worth County had a sustained run of success, winning 21 games in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and 23 games this year. They were GRC West Co-Champs two times, the GRC Champions this year after beating Milan, made it to the State Quarterfinals twice, and saw both Anna Gladstone and Regan Allee score over 1,000 points during their career. By the end of their careers, they had won 79 games.
They always had a formidable supporting cast, so that teams could not just key on Anna and Regan. Kristin New was always a threat to steal the ball, and she was the team’s best ball-handler. Kaylee McElvain was a shot-blocking presence in the paint and could hit 3-pointers from outside and had a good mid-range jumper. Merrideth Spiers was physical, able to rebound and make hustle plays. Jenna Smith could shoot from outside as well, steal the ball, and lighten up the mood and crack everyone up.
There were plenty of players who went before them who helped them along the way. Jessi Badell was a force underneath the boards, always a threat to get 10 a game; she could block shots as well and was a disruptive presence when Worth County went into their trap. Payton Adwell provided a steady hand to help the team get started back in 2016-17. Haley Hunt emerged as a scoring threat during the latter part of the season last year, starting with the Pattonsburg game, in which Worth County won the first of its two GRC West titles.
Whatever happens next year, this group of seniors left the team in better shape than they found it. Megan Cassavaugh has turned into one of the best defenders in the area this year. Jill Hardy will be one of the better rebounders on the team, can light it up from long range, and always has a smile on her face. EmiLee Brown can seal in the post and can pass it out again. Ali Brown, whose mother, Dawn (Judd) Brown was coached by Les New at Southwest Community College, will be one of the more physical posts Worth County has had in a while. Hailey Adwell can step in as a guard, Justina Wimer can light it up from outside, and Kynah Steele will be a promising freshman.
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