Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' top girls high school basketball players heading into the 2021-22 season

Wyatt D. Wheeler, Springfield News-Leader

November 23, 2021 at 7:53 AM·6 min read

A proud girls' basketball region will give fans plenty of reasons to buy a ticket and go to a local gym this season with elite players all over the area.

High school basketball season is here and the talent on the girls' side is as deep as ever.

For the second year in a row, the News-Leader will conduct its "Dominant Dozen" with boys' and girls' basketball. The Dominant Dozen serves as our preseason and postseason teams.

More: Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best girls basketball players of the 2020-21 season

This list will be different by the end of the year as players break out and become among the area's elite. We will publish a watchlist around midseason before naming the 2021-22 Dominant Dozen at the end of the season.

Our preseason Dominant Dozen for the 2021-22 girls' basketball season follows and is in alphabetical order by last name:

Brielle Adamson, Willard

Willard's Brielle Adamson drives the baseline against Skyline during Pink and White Tournament action at Parkview High School in Springfield on December 30, 2020.

Adamson's sister landed on our Dominant Dozen postseason team. Now it's Brielle's turn.

More: The Willard girls call themselves a family. For three of them, it is a legal definition.

Adamson is the returning leading scorer from a Willard team that won 20 games last season. She's been an All-Central Ozark Conference and All-District selection as a sophomore and junior.

The 5-foot-8 guard is coming off a season that saw her average 14 points, 2.5 boards, 2.1 assists and a pair of steals per game.

Riley Arnold, Blue Eye

The Blue Eye Lady Bulldogs took on the Ellington Lady Whippets in a semifinal matchup on Thursday, March 11, 2021, at JQH Arena. Blue Eye lost 58-68 to the Whippets.

Arnold is just one of the best athletes in the Ozarks. She's a multi-sport athlete who dominates in everything she does and that includes the hardwood.

Blue Eye is coming off a third-place finish in Class 2 last season. Arnold led the Lady Bulldogs with 17.6 points per game along with 152 assists entering the state semifinals. She was a 43 percent shooter including a 34.7 percent clip from deep.

Kaemyn Bekemeier, Republic

Republic's Kaemyn Bekemeier shoots against Eldorado Springs in the Pink and White Tournament at Glendale High School in Springfield on December 29, 2020.

The Missouri State commit enters her junior season as a player of the year candidate after an impressive two seasons to start her high school career.

Bekemeier cemented herself as one of the area's elite players while averaging 20.6 points and nine boards per game and being named a Class 6 All-State player, the Central Ozark Conference's Player of the Year and a News-Leader Dominant Dozen performer.

More: Why Republic superstar Kaemyn Bekemeier decided to commit to the Missouri State Lady Bears

Bekemeier is one of the area's better athletes with some of the best vision and handles. She's a legit Division I prospect and Missouri State knows it landed a really good one.

Destiny Buerge, Carl Junction

Buerge is one of the area's rising stars after a sophomore season put her among the elite.

The 5-foot-6 point guard was among the state's leading scorers last season at 24.6 points per game. She also averaged 6.4 boards, 4.3 steals and 2.7 assists per game.

Buerge being capable of taking more steps heading into her junior and senior seasons is a scary thought.

Emma Compton, Strafford

Emma Compton (3), of Strafford, celebrates the Indians 65-62 win over Licking in the Class 3 State Championship game at JQH Arena on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Even though Strafford didn't win its sixth-straight state championship last season, overlooking the Lady Indians is still not allowed.

With Compton in Strafford's backcourt, the Lady Indians will still be a team to be reckoned with.

Compton, a 5-foot-3 guard, averaged 15.6 points, 3.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game last season. Don't sleep on Strafford heading into this year.

Macie Conway, Nixa

Scenes from a girls' high school basketball game between Nixa and Republic on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at Republic High School.

Conway enters her senior year after being the leader the Lady Eagles needed to turn the girls' basketball program around.

Nixa, which was a below-.500 team before Conway's arrival, enjoyed seeing her average 17.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She was a 52 percent shooter and finished the year with 54 steals and 36 assists.

Conway was a Dominant Dozen postseason selection last year. Another big season from her and the Lady Eagles shouldn't surprise anyone.

Bella Fontleroy, Kickapoo

Kickapoo's Bella Fontleroy is the No. 12 player in ESPN's Class of 2022 rankings.

Fontleroy begins her senior year with the weight of her college decision off her shoulders and a focus on helping the Lady Chiefs win a state championship.

The five-star recruit recently committed to Baylor after she helped Kickapoo finish third in the state. She averaged 16.3 points and 7.8 boards per game entering the state semifinals and will be depended on heavily this season following the graduation of Indya Green.

More: Kickapoo basketball phenom Ysabella Fontleroy is determined to live up to her last name

Fontleroy is the best athlete on every court she steps on. Her ability to create for herself and her teammates is unmatched.

Claudia Hadlock, Miller

Miller has been one of the elite programs in recent seasons with 25 or more wins each year. Hadlock has been a big reason why.

Hadlock enters her senior year after averaging 15 points and five boards per game last season. She's a capable scorer at every level and is the commander of the Lady Cardinals on the floor.

Breona Hurd, Waynesville

Waynesville Lady Tiger Breona Hurd goes up for a field goal during a game against the Buffalo Lady Bison in the White division during the Pink and White Tournament at Kickapoo High School on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020.

It's only a matter of time before Hurd becomes the best player in the area. The sophomore is regarded as one of the top basketball recruits in the country, let alone southwest Missouri.

Hurd is coming off a freshman season in which she averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game. She was an All-Ozark Conference selection and will be tasked with more responsibility following the graduation of Naudia Evans.

More: Waynesville's senior-freshman combo creates the Ozarks' most dangerous duo

The 6-foot-2 power forward is highly sought after. She's recently visited Missouri State, Mizzou and Louisville. She also holds an offer from Oklahoma.

Ashton Judd, West Plains

West Plains Lady Zizzer Ashton Judd shoots a field goal during a Class 5 girls Sectional game against the Willard Lady Tigers on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Willard High School.

A big summer put Judd on the Division I radar for many. We've known how good she is for quite a while.

The West Plains star enters her final season in a Lady Zizzer uniform after she averaged a double-double a season ago while leading one of the area's craziest defenses.

Judd finished the year averaging 18.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She was a 51 percent shooter from deep while 53.6 percent from the field.

Khloe Moad, Ash Grove

The Marionville Lady Comets took on the Ash Grove Lady Pirates in the Class 3 District 11 championship game on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, at Marionville High School.

Moad was one of the first commitments to Amaka Agugua-Hamilton over at Missouri State and she is destined to have a big senior season before heading over to JQH Arena.

Moad finished last season averaging 16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.2 steals per game. She's already passed the 1,000-career point mark and will be able to add more this season.

More: Ash Grove’s Khloe Moad puts up crazy numbers every game. But it’s the hardware that matters

The 6-foot-2 forward can score at different levels as she's also someone who can knock down a triple.

Reese Schaaf, El Dorado Springs

Eldorado Springs' Reese Schaaf drives to the basket against Republic in the Pink and White Tournament at Glendale High School in Springfield on December 29, 2020.

El Dorado Springs has been one of the better teams in the region in recent years and that should continue as its star returns for a senior year.

Schaaf is a 5-foot-10 guard who has helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back 24-plus win seasons. She averaged 18 points and seven rebounds a year ago.

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: Previewing the top Southwest Missouri girls' basketball players

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