Southeast Missourian girls basketball player of the year: Saxony Lutheran's Brianna Mueller

For as many accomplishments as Brianna Mueller has earned over the past three seasons with the Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team, it might come as a surprise to see what stands out more than any of her medals or trophies.

It's not the moment the Crusaders' captured their first-ever district championship as freshmen, or even last season when Saxony reached the Class 3 final four for the first time in school history.

While those are all important to the junior, the one thing that has the most meaning is a photo that sums up her reaction just moments after the Crusaders were handed a six-point overtime loss by eventual state champion Park Hills Central in a quarterfinal last season.

"I was heart-broken as that picture clearly shows. I couldn't hold it all in, so I just threw my jersey over my face and cried," Mueller said. "A couple days after we lost, I saw that picture on Semoball and it kind of broke my heart a little bit. But then I tell my mom, 'I want you to order that picture.' And she said, 'Yeah. OK. But why?' My response, and I'll never forget saying this was, 'I want it, and I want to keep it some place where I'll always see it to motivate me for next year.' As hard as it is to look at that, it lights a fire under me like I can't even describe. It makes me want to go all the way next year."

Saxony Lutheran's Briana Mueller leaves the court after her team's loss to Central Park Hills in the 3A state quarterfinal Saturday, March 7, 2015 in Hillsboro, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Nearly two months removed from that loss, the photo is hanging up on a wall in her room, acting as a reminder every day of the unfinished business she has ahead of her.

Mueller always knew she wanted to play basketball. So when her friends joined the team at St. Paul Lutheran School in Jackson, Missouri, in the fifth grade, she was eager to join, too. Soccer was always her primary sport in those days, and it's unlikely anyone on that first team knew the soccer-crazed athlete would bring so much success to Saxony or become the Southeast Missourian girls basketball player of the year.

"I've always really liked sports, and honestly, soccer used to be my thing," Mueller said. "I played soccer from pre-K, and, I mean, I still play it now. I love soccer. I thought I was going to go to college and become a soccer player, and then I picked up a basketball and said to myself, 'Soccer is not my thing.'"

Ever since then, basketball became her primary focus.

But making the transition from grade school basketball to playing at the high school level wasn't quite as smooth for Mueller and the Crusaders, who make it look easy on the court today.

"When we came into high school, about half of us were from Trinity and the other half were from St. Paul's, so it took us about halfway through that first year to really mesh," Saxony junior, and one of Mueller's closest friends and teammates, Raegan Wieser said. "She's always been great at basketball, but it was definitely freshman year when she helped us make that transition into high school and truly helped us break the barrier to become really good friends."

2015 All-Missourian girls basketball - Brianna Mueller - Saxony Lutheran High School (Laura Simon)

Mueller finished the season averaging 15.9 points per game with 94 rebounds and added 3.4 assists per game but said she had felt the urge to step up as a leader more than ever this season.

"After last year, I didn't want to stop there because I knew we hadn't reached our potential yet," Mueller said. "I knew that we needed a leader. We needed someone to step up and I just that thought it should be me."

Saxony coach Sam Sides had watched Mueller play in eighth grade before she came to Saxony and recognized her talent right away.

"What impressed me about her was her aggressiveness," Sides said. "For girls, a lot of times they can attack the basket, but it's not quite as aggressive as she can be. A lot of girls can't do that off the dribble but she could do that in the eighth grade. She's got all those intangibles that you want in a player and has really been a great person to work with."

Without a senior on the roster this past season, Sides noticed that Mueller stepped up more than she ever had in a leadership role.

"I think not having any seniors this year like we've had in the past made Brianna recognize that and took that on as a responsibility," Sides said. "That was kind of good to see because you've got to have good leaders not only on the floor but in the locker room, in the classroom. I think definitely she elevated her game there."

The humble attitude of Mueller suggests it's not just her that acts as a leader for the Crusaders, but instead the whole team pushing one another to achieve the common goal of getting back to state.

"I always hoped, I always worked, and I continue to work, but I never thought that this would happen," Mueller said about becoming the player she is today. "I never thought my school team would be so successful. I never thought I would be here as a player. But I don't look at myself like that as a leader. I'm here because of my teammates and my wonderful coach, who I think lead me more than anything. I really just try to make everyone around me better"

And she has, according to junior Grace Mirly, who's been playing basketball, soccer and volleyball with Mueller since the age of five.

"She has characteristics of a leader, and she shows them on the court," Mirly said about Mueller. "She's not afraid to be vocal. She's had a lot of basketball experience, so she knows what she's doing and she's able to set an example. But the competition is such a big thing for us. We always go at it wherever we're at, whatever we're doing. Whether that's one-on-one or just in drills, we don't take it easy on each other."

Mueller helped Saxony finish with a 29-1 record, the best finish of any team in school history. She also notched her 1,000th career point during the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic in December. The one win she will never forget is her coach's reaction following the Crusaders' first-place finish in the Farmington Tournament.

"The look on my coach's face after we got first -- I've never seen him smile that much," Mueller said about Sides. "It was our first time in that tournament, and if you know coach, he's an amazing person but he doesn't show much emotion if you haven't noticed. He doesn't like the limelight at all, so to see that big smile behind his mustache -- I will never ever forget that."

Mueller will continue her playing career in college, although she's not yet sure where she will be playing.

She's received interest from Arkansas, which contacted Sides a couple weeks ago asking for film on Mueller. She has also contacted Southeast Missouri State University and said she would be interested in playing for the Redhawks. However, Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, is currently the front-runner, according to Mueller.

"There's some other schools, but I'm very interested in Drury," she said. "I've visited their campus, talked to their head coach, so that one sticks out for me."

She's still got some time to make that decision, and for now, she remains dedicated to Saxony, her teammates and the one thing that has eluded her in her basketball career.

"All the tournament wins, the individual awards -- I think I speak for every one of my teammates when I say that we would trade it all for a state title to bring back to our school," Mueller said.