DISTRICT BASKETBALL: Advance girls expect key player to return for C2D3 tournament

The Advance girls basketball team was thrown a curveball over the holiday break.

The Hornets began the season with nine players but have been playing with only five since Christmas.

Freshman Addison Carlton was the team’s biggest loss. She suffered a stress fracture in one of her feet after playing in only seven games.

However, Carlton was cleared to return to practice Thursday, and coach Ethan Barr expects to have her back in the lineup for the district tournament.

“She only has one week to prepare for districts but just having the opportunity to get her on the floor for district play will be huge for us,” Barr said.

Advance was named the No. 2 seed and received one of the two first-round byes for the tournament that begins Saturday at Bloomfield High School.

“We feel great about getting the No. 2 seed but now we need to prove that we deserved it,” Barr said. “Now we just want to get Carlton as healthy and ready as we can heading into the end of the year and see what we can do.”

Oran, who received votes in the most recent Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 2 state rankings, received the top seed. The Eagles are 13-4. Class 6 Poplar Bluff, Class 5 Notre Dame and Class 1 state-ranked Delta (twice) are responsible for the Eagles’ losses.

“Oran is for sure the team to beat in our district,” Barr said. “I think their size for sure is going to make them difficult to play against but also their experience. They have a great winning program.”

The Hornets opened the season 5-1 but have won only five of their past 10 games.

“I really liked where we were headed going into Christmas break before Carlton got hurt,” Barr said. “She was averaging 19.5 points a game for us so when you lose that much scoring it's a huge blow.”

Barr said the remaining players have responded in her absence.

“Alandry (Below) has taken it to a different level for us. She has been carrying the load offensively even more than she has in the past,” Barr said. “Kaylee Cline has stepped up and scored the ball really well for us as well. Lexi Hoffman has made a huge jump for us since Christmas and become a viable scoring option around the basket.”

Below is averaging 31.5 points per game, Cline averages 11.3 and Hoffman 5.9.

In the new year, Cline has scored in double figures eight times, averaging 13.1. Hoffman has reached double figures in four of her past six games, averaging 9.3 over that stretch.

Without any depth, Barr has changed his strategy.

“We have to be smart defensively and try to stay out of foul trouble, which we do not always do, unfortunately,” Barr said. “We try to spread our timeouts throughout the game to try to get breaks when we can as well. It's been a challenge but the girls have stuck with it and made it through.”

The district tournament tips off Saturday with two first-round games. Advance will meet the winner of the Meadow Heights-Bloomfield game in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Monday. Oran will meet the winner of the St. Vincent-Oak Ridge game at 6 p.m. Monday.

The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24.