Competitive nature drives Saxony Lutheran girls basketball seniors back to final four

Four years ago, coach Sam Sides was hoping to get a glimpse of a recent influx of young talent when he recalls holding an open gym for members of the Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team.

Among those young players were freshmen Maddie Brune and Ashlynn Collier, who squared off in a physical pick-up game that Sides referred to as "knock-down, drag-out."

"It was as physical of two girls playing that I had seen in a long time," Sides said. "They battled each other, and they're friends. ... I said, 'That's unusual.' Most kids if they're playing that hard are mad at each other or are trying get back at one another. But they played to win. That's what you saw in this group early.

"They're very competitive. They want to win, and they play hard to do that. They support each other, and they care about each other."

Brune and Collier are now two of eight seniors on a Saxony squad that has accomplished more than any class before it. There's nothing extraordinary about their size or stature -- the Crusaders have no player taller than 5-foot-11 on their roster -- but there's an undeniable will to win that has driven Saxony to its second Class 3 final four appearance, beginning at noon today at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Seniors on Saxony Lutheran's girls basketball team are appearing at their final state tournament beginning today in Columbia, Missouri.Laura Simon

"Since grade school, we've competed against each other. We all have that competitive spirit, and we've always wanted to win," Crusaders senior Raegan Wieser said. "... When we finally made it to high school, for us to come together, it was really great to see all of it because there are so many different personalities and people with different strengths and stuff. To put it all together, it just really worked well."

Those eight seniors -- Brune, Collier, Wieser, Brianna Mueller, Grace Mirly, Ali Galemmo, Tess Daniel and Heather Wills -- have amassed a 106-12 record during their four years at Saxony, including a 57-3 mark in their junior and senior seasons. The Crusaders' four straight district titles are the only ones in the history of the program, and they've reached the state quarterfinals three years in a row, including two trips to the final four.

It's been an unprecedented run for this year's senior class, and it's been achieved by a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication. The Crusaders are sometimes undersized at several key positions, but they make up for it with an athleticism and competitive nature that can't be overlooked.

In his fifth year as coach, Sides has had a first-hand look at the development of his senior class.

"They have a much better understanding of the game, I think -- getting where they're supposed to be, anticipating things and seeing what the other team's trying to do to them. That helps their execution," Sides said. "Just being around and maturing and playing that many games over a long haul, I think they've absorbed a lot of that."

Saxony Lutheran's Brianna Mueller shoots over Park Hills Central's Olivia Casey in the third quarter during a Class 3 quarterfinal Saturday, March 5, 2016 in Hillsboro, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

A group of 15 players was trimmed in half from freshman to sophomore year, according to Sides. Since then, continuity has played the biggest role in keeping eight seniors together.

"That's unusual to a fact because a lot of times if someone's not getting playing time or whatever, they'll get discouraged or find something else to do with their time, but they wanted to support each other and keep playing. And it made us that much stronger of a team, especially this team," Sides said. "So many girls have gotten hurt -- five of the eight have had surgery. That's a lot. All of them have missed time at one time or another.

"They're real resilient. They battle through that stuff, and they're pretty amazing really with their attitude."

Sides said the challenge of getting eight seniors accustomed to their roles has been difficult, but he credits supportive relationships between players, parents and coaches for helping to bridge that gap.

"I try to talk to them all the time about what you're going to have to do to get more playing time," Sides said. "If somebody's 10 percent better or 2 percent better, they're goint to play 90 percent more time. The difference sometimes is very small. The difference between winning and losing is very small. You've got to earn your playing time, and when your opportunities come, you've got to make the best of them.

Saxony Lutheran's Raegan Wieser drives to the basket against Charleston during the second quarter of a Class 3 District 2 semifinal Monday, Feb. 22, 2016 in Scott City.Fred Lynch

"Most of the time they've done that. Obviously they're not all the same. Some of them have different gifts. Some are better at one role rather than another. That's just part of being mature and accepting that."

The roles of each senior are unique in their own way.

Perhaps no role is more imperative than that of Mueller, who leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game.

"She's a very dedicated basketball player," Sides said about Mueller. "She's put probably more time into her game than anybody here, but she's a very competitive person. You wouldn't tell because she's always got a smile on her face and a sweet disposition, but she's a very competitive person."

The 5-7 guard is a 43.8-percent shooter from 3-point range and also leads the team at the charity stripe, where she's shooting 79.7 percent. She's the reigning Semoball Awards Female Athlete of the Year, and just like most of her fellow teammates, she's a standout athlete in other sports (soccer and volleyball).

Saxony Lutheran's Grace Mirly makes her way down the court against Twin Rivers during the first quarter in a Class 3 sectional Wednesday, March 2, 2016 in Dexter, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

"Obviously we need her," Sides said. "She's a good ball-handler. She makes very good decisions with the basketball. ... B's obviously a big part of our offense, but she's a good defensive player, too. She really doesn't have a lot of flaws. She's not real big. She's not very fast, but she's skilled. And she's put a lot of time into making herself skilled."

Wieser is another double-digit scorer for the Crusaders, averaging 12.0 ppg since returning in late January from an ACL injury that kept her from playing her final volleyball season. She's one of two 5-11 players on the roster and is averaging 3.7 rpg since returning to the starting lineup.

"I've always tried to get her to play inside more, but her natural instincts, she's better at facing the bucket," Sides said. "She can handle the ball. She's a good passer, a good ball-handler. She's got those long arms, and people can't get to her a lot of times. It makes it easy for the pass, too, because she can see over a lot of people. She's another one that can play any position.

"When she was a sophomore, she was probably our main ball-handler, but she also can spot up and shoot the 3. She can also finish around the rim. She's not real fast, but she's got a good, strong first step. And she's long, so she can get past people and take advantage of people who are quicker by over-powering them with her size. If people are too big, she can take it out and shoot the 3. She's a hard match for most people."

Another double-digit scorer, Mirly has stepped into a much larger role in her final season. The 5-7 guard is averaging 11.1 ppg and leads the team in assists (3.1 apg).

Saxony Lutheran's Maddie Brune looks to shoot between Woodland's Heidi Green, left, and Kelsie Long during the first quarter of a semifinal game in the Delta New Year's Tournament Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016 in Delta, Missouri.Fred Lynch

With Wieser out, Mirly was forced to establish herself as more of an offensive threat. She approached Sides at the beginning of the season and asked what she needed to do more, and Sides challenged her to attack.

"She's an unheralded athlete. ... Mainly she's a ball-handler and a passer, and she can penetrate and finish at the basket. She's really good at taking the ball to the basket," Sides said about Mirly, who's also an all-state softball player. "I use her to post up. She's as good of a post player as I've got because she can get in there and score in the paint. She's going to be out-sized every time, but she can manuever. She's very agile and as athletic as anybody we have. And that makes her very difficult to guard."

Then there's the bruiser down low in Brune, a 5-9 senior starter who's averaging a team-leading 4.9 rpg.

"Maddie's just a horse. We need her," Sides said. "She's a great leader and brings great effort. I think she's probably our best defensive player. That's what she brings most to the table.

"The other day she was guarding Megan Skaggs, an all-stater from Park Hills, and I think she won that challenge. I think she only scored two points in the second half. She had 15 for the game and at least two or three 3-pointers. Maddie's a really strong, competitive girl and very determined. She's as strong-willed as anybody I've ever coached."

Saxony Lutheran's Ali Galemmo passes to a teammate in the fourth quarter against Jackson during the championship game of the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 at the Show Me Center.Glenn Landberg

Brune is also a reliable shooter at the free-throw line (72.7 percent). She signed a Division-I scholarship last month to play soccer at Troy University.

"Everything she does, she does with passion," Sides said. "She struggles sometimes, but she's a good free-throw shooter. She doesn't give herself enough credit. She doesn't have bad mechanics in her shot, but she's playing under-sized in the post and guarding people two, three, four inches taller than her almost every night. But there aren't many who are going to be stronger than her or will out-work her. ... She brings it every day. She doesn't take a day off."

Saxony will move on this weekend without the presence of senior Ali Galemmo in the starting lineup. The 5-8 forward refractured the same foot from a year ago in the opening minutes of a quarterfinal win over top-ranked Park Hills Central on Saturday.

Galemmo averaged 3.6 rpg, 6.2 ppg and was a 69.4-percent shooter from the free-throw line before sustaining her injury. Sides said Galemmo's rebounding, free-throw shooting and defensive prowess will be hard to replace.

"She's probably the best leaper we've got," Sides said. "She's another girl who's got some length and some size to her. She's a very good, athletic girl as well. She's one of the fastest girls we've got. She's got speed. She can play defense. She's a good rebounder. She can score around the bucket. She also can make her free throws, and that's probably what we're going to miss the most."

Saxony Lutheran's Ashlynn Collier looks to shoot against Neelyville's Shelby Moon during the third quarter Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 at Saxony Lutheran High School.Fred Lynch

Galemmo will be replaced by another senior in Collier, a 5-8 center who's averaging 4.1 ppg and 4.2 rpg. Collier saw starting action at the beginning of the year when she replaced an injured Brune.

"You're not going to push her around the paint. ... She's very aggressive as well on the boards," Sides said about Collier. "She's under-sized, but she's very strong with her hands around the bucket. She struggles sometimes to finish, but she's a very determined person. She gets a little out of control once in a while, but she's 100 mph no matter what the situation is."

The Crusaders also have a pair of seniors to use from the bench, including the speedy Daniel, a 5-4 guard who's averaging 3.7 ppg.

"She can move, and she's going to get on the floor and scramble. You're not going to out-hustle her either," Sides said about Daniel. "We don't really need her to shoot the ball a whole lot. Sometimes she gets in trouble by trying to do too much offensively, but her strength is her quickness and her defensive intensity and just her effort. I mean, she can just be all over. Against Poplar Bluff, I think she had about 10 steals.

"She's a ball-hawk type of person, and I think when she plays smart offensively and plays under control and does what she does naturally with her speed and her toughness, she's a big asset to have on the floor."

Saxony Lutheran's Tess Daniel drives to the basket as Notre Dame's Lexi Welter defends during the second quarter in a semifinal of the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 at the Show Me Center.Fred Lynch

Rounding out the group is Wills, a 5-4 guard who embodies a personified message of unselfishness. She missed her sophomore season due to injury and has been limited to vision in only one eye for most of her life, according to Sides.

"I can't imagine what that's like trying to compete like that," Sides said. "She lives in Perryville, so she drives 30 miles every day to practice, to go to school -- through bad weather, good weather. She's a little farther away than the rest of them, but she's a great kid and wants to help and contribute. And she's done that.

"She hasn't gotten to play a whole lot, and that's tough to do. A lot of people get the limelight and all the accolades and stuff, and you're sitting there not getting to contribute as much. She realizes that you don't always have to be the starter and don't have to play as much and make all the shots to know that there are other ways to contribute. She's done that, and she's helped make us stronger."

Each year, the Saxony seniors have raised the stakes higher and higher. They were eliminated by Twin Rivers in a 66-51 decision in sectionals as freshmen before marching to the final four as sophomores. They left Columbia with a fourth-place finish, something that didn't sit well with a highly-competitive group of girls.

"That feeling is not a good feeling when you're a competitive person, and that's what really drove us. And you want to keep working because you don't want that to happen next year," Wieser said. "You don't want to have that feeling again."

Saxony Lutheran's Heather Wills shoots for three points against Oran during the third quarter of the championship game in the Delta New Year's Tournament Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 in Delta, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

The Crusaders put together a string of 29 straight wins last season as juniors before reaching the quarterfinals where Park Hills handed them their only loss in a 67-61, heartbreaking decision in overtime. Park Hills went on to win the state championship with ease.

Saxony avenged that loss last week in a 45-39 decision.

"That hurt them," Sides said about last year's quarterfinal loss. "From that point on, I think they were determined to get back to that game and get over that hump. That's a great accomplishment to their will and their effort. I think they're determined. I think we're going to go up there and give it the best shot we can and see what happens."

Having coached for 38 years, Sides said this year's group of seniors hold a special place in his heart.

"I got pretty emotional the other day," Sides said about Saturday's victory. "I didn't want it to end because I've known them for four years, and they've been such a blessing for me to coach. And then next year, you have eight people gone that you've pretty much had a day-to-day operation with for four years. That's going to be strange. That's going to be rough. The older I get, the more I've become sentimental. I've always loved my players, and I probably get too strongly attached to them.

"The last few years, I haven't been very emotional as far as breaking down and crying, but these girls make me cry all the time. It makes me mad. I just can't help myself because they just work so hard and are such great kids to be around. They've really affected me as a person and as a coach. ... Whether we win or lose, the hard part is once that game is over, then my relationship, to some degree, is going to be severed. Some of them I may hardly ever see again, so that's going to be tough. But that's part of being an educator, a teacher, a coach. They're going to move on, but they'll be outstanding young women. And I look forward to seeing what their lives are going to be as they get older. They've all got a lot of great ambitions and futures ahead of them."

The Crusaders begin their run at noon today against Southern Boone (29-1). The winner faces either Strafford (28-3) or St. Pius X (Kansas City) (25-3) in the state championship at 11 a.m. Saturday. The third-place game is slated for 11 a.m. Friday.

"We can hardly do anything else. We can't focus on our school work. We can't do anything," Mueller said. "All we want to do is, 'Coach, give us some film. We want to scout.'

"It's hard to know things about these teams because we've never seen them play. They're from a different area of the state, but we are so excited. We realize this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For us, this is our second time. A lot of teams don't even get to go once, so we're definitely not going to take it for granted. This is a business trip. We're going to go and do what we've been wanting to do since freshman year."