Tournament

year and that mistake isn’t happening again. The top five seeds are state championship contenders while the rest are young up-and-coming teams hoping to make some noise. Aurora is the team to watch against Branson. Both have been great to start the year but I’m giving the edge to the Pirates, when they’ve played well against bigger programs.

White Division first round

First-round games in O’Reilly Family Event Center on Dec. 27

h 9:30 a.m. — No. 7 Strafford vs. Bolivar h 11 a.m. — No. 2 Nixa vs. Lebanon h 12:30 p.m. — No. 6 Skyline vs. Sarcoxie

h 2 p.m. — No. 3 Marshfield vs. Catholic

h 3:30 p.m. — No. 8 Chadwick vs. Clever

h 5 p.m. — No. 1 Greenwood (Arkansas) vs. Parkview

h 6:30 p.m. — No. 5 Glendale vs. Thayer

h 8 p.m. — No. 4 Republic vs. Mount Vernon

Chalk: Don’t see anything surprising happening here. The opener between Bolivar and Strafford could be interesting, with the Liberators being a team to keep an eye on, but it’s hard to bet against the Strafford program in the first round of a tournament when it has the best player on the floor.

Pink Division quarterfinals

h No. 2 Kickapoo vs. No. 7 Ozark h No. 3 Fair Grove vs. No. 6 LoganRogersville

h No. 1 Fort Smith Northside vs. No. 8 Branson

h No. 4 West Plains vs. No. 5 El Dorado Springs

Chalk again: The top four seeds in both divisions made the semifinals last year. The game to keep an eye on here is the Lady Zizzers vs. El Dorado Springs. Both are state championship contenders in their classes and I’m leaning toward the Lady Zizzers in this one.

White Division quarterfinals

h No. 2 Nixa vs. No. 7 Strafford h No. 3 Marshfield vs. No. 6 Skyline h No. 1 Greenwood (Arkansas) vs. No. 8 Chadwick h No. 4 Republic vs. No. 5 Glendale An upset! We don’t have all eight topfour seeds making the semifinals, as Glendale is in a spot to make a big splash against one of the best programs in the area. The Lady Tigers have started out well in their post-Bekemeier era but their losses to El Dorado Springs and Kickapoo, compared to Glendale’s dominant 7-0 start, has us believing that the Lady Falcons are ready to make some noise in the area.

Pink Division semifinals

h No. 2 Kickapoo vs. No. 3 Fair Grove h No. 1 Fort Smith Northside vs. No. 4 West Plains

No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the championship: Kickapoo and Fair Grove is a dream matchup between two of the best teams in southwest Missouri. Fair Grove looks like a team that may be able to repeat as state champs while Kickapoo is back to elite status and should challenge for a Class 6 title. We give the edge to the Lady Chiefs early this season. Northside earns a trip to the title game as it’s been one of the best programs in the region with its lone loss coming to IMG Academy.

White Division semifinals

h No. 2 Nixa vs. No. 3 Marshfield h No. 1 Greenwood (Arkansas) vs. No. 5 Glendale

Glendale gives us a special tournament: If this happens, it would mark a pretty historic run at the Pink and White. Glendale has been as good as anyone in the area to start the season and the team is developing new stars all over the court. Avery Givens and Maddy Zingg were a pair of the names to know heading into the year and you’re now seeing freshman Ari Warren putting up big numbers. Glendale is the No. 8 team in Class 6, which is quite remarkable considering where this program was two years ago. Nixa and Marshfield would also be a great game and we’d lean with the Lady Eagles in that one.

Pink Division championship

h No. 1 Fort Smith Northside vs. No. 2 Kickapoo

Lady Chiefs win the Pink: No one in the area wants to see an Arkansas school come out with a championship, and Kickapoo would be the most capable team to do it. The Lady Chiefs have been rolling to start the season under first-year head coach Leslie Hanchey. The likes of Kya Johnson, Mikayla Pilley and Josie Salazar should have their team ready to make a run at the title. No one really wants to see an Arkansas school win, anyways.

White Division championship

h No. 2 Nixa vs. No. 5 Glendale

Nixa wins the White: The Lady Eagles came up short in the title game last year. They won’t this year if they get there. Nixa is still figuring some things out early in the season after a few key graduations but why not now? Jenny Talbert made it known that she’s one of the best coaches in the area last year while leading Fair Grove to a state title and it’s only a matter of time before this group is ready to make noise.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield NewsLeader. You can contact him at 417-3716987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He’s also the host of the weekly “Wyatt’s World Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms