Coach: David Qualls
21-22 Record: 22-4
A return to Class 5A opens the door for a possible return to the state tournament in 2022-23 as the Lady Tigers return a trio of juniors that have proven basketball skills and the ability to set the tone for continued success. Kori Rainwater (6-0, F, Jr.) enters her third year as a starter making the most of her size and agility evidenced by her nine points and nine rebound totals per game from last season while Jadyn Buttery (5-11, G/F, Jr.) adds versatility on both ends of the court where she averaged 8.0 points while collecting 5.2 rebounds per contest.
“Those two have been a part of our team success the last two seasons,” said David Qualls, who enters his eighth year as head coach. “Kori started as a freshman on our state runner-up team in 2021 and Jadyn added value minutes. Both girls are getting plenty of offers from college recruiters.”
Jersey Retzloff (5-7, G, Jr.), who Qualls described as a player who will do whatever it takes to win and Paisley Qualls (5-6, G, Jr.) who missed last year due to an ACL injury will join Madi Matthews (5-5, G, Jr.) who averaged 4.3 points per contest last season and Talyn Dick (5-4, G, Jr.) who can score from the outside to provide added depth along with Carsyn Gilbert (5-6, G, Fr.).
“There’s no denying we will be young and inexperienced as compared to recent years,” admits Qualls. “But make no mistake about it, I do know that our group will be competitive and play hard for four quarters.”