Unbeaten Ozark glad to have Ladd back

OZARK — It’s been a long journey to get back on the basketball court, but Ozark senior Hannah Ladd is glad to be back making an impact for the Lady Hillbillies.

Ladd, who missed the last two seasons because of injuries, has made the most of her final season. She has re-emerged as a key versatile scorer for Ozark, the last remaining undefeated girls team in the state after Friday’s 54-19 win against Charleston that bumped the Lady Hillbillies’ record to 23-0.

“This season has meant the world to me,” Ladd said. “We’ve been coming out and taking every game one at a time. It’s been a big part of our success along with the love of the game from all of us.”

While on the road to returning, Ladd had just one goal: Joining her teammates in a quest for a state title.

“When I was going through the whole process, the only thing on my mind was trying to get back to my girls,” Ladd said. “I told myself I got to get back. We were here to play together and to have a shot at getting rings.”

Fellow senior starters Ariel Walker, Lauren Lane and Meagan Harris are glad to have Ladd back healthy for one last year.

“This senior class has played basketball pretty much our whole lives together,” Harris said. “Hannah came in our middle school years. We took her in and it was like she had been playing with us from the start. We have a lot of chemistry together.”

Ladd’s return has created a dynamic scoring duo along with Walker, who led the team in points a season ago.

“It’s been nice having her back,” Walker said. “She is a big part of this team and what we are and do here. We’ve gotten to play with her a lot this season and have gotten back into it. We are just doing what we do.”

Lane and Harris have come up big as well scoring when they have been needed most when defenses focus their attention on Ladd and Walker.

Lane scored 19 points in a recent victory on the road against Waldron. Harris stepped up scoring 20 points in the first game of the season against Lavaca.

Kayla Barnett has played well in an expanded role as a starter in her junior year, providing defense and helping control the offense as a guard.

“That’s what a basketball team is — everybody playing together to make a great team,” Ozark coach Bret Nagel said. “If you have one great player and four below average players, you can just key on that one player. This team has options.”

Nagel said he wasn’t sure how quick his team would come together as a unit with a lot of moving parts despite the success of last season’s team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Tournament.

It has worked out just fine so far for Ozark.

Lane and Harris had key roles last year off the bench but now have played key minutes as senior starters. The team also had to work in Ladd once she rejoined the team.

Ozark’s large junior class has made an impact as well with Barnett starting, while Anna Grace Gibbons, Savanna Schaffer, Lauren Nagel and Monica Chancey all have played off the bench.

“It’s been exciting. We’ve played as a team, which has made it fun,” Lane said. “If we work together, we get the job done.”

It’s been a special year so far for Ozark, but making a deep run to close out the season strong will be the goal now, amd Ladd is glad to finally be a part of the quest.

Ladd

Nagel