Going into the Thanksgiving holiday last week, all four girls basketball teams from the county that are part of the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools division had broken the seal on a new season.
De Soto High School, Festus High and Windsor High all opened with victories, while Hillsboro High lost 62-31 to Jackson High at the Farmington Civic Center on Nov. 22. The Hawks split the JCAA large-schools title with Festus last season. The Indians finished 25-2.
Hillsboro senior forward Ashley Hilton is the reigning JCAA large-schools MVP. Hilton led the Hawks to a record of 25-3 by averaging 19 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Hilton made 216 shots from the field (only three from 3-point range) and 106 free throws. She scored in double figures in every game but the last one, a 28-23 loss to Farmington High in the Class 5 District 1 championship.
Four players scored in double figures for the Dragons, who launched the season by routing visiting Grandview High (JCAA small-schools) 66-14 Nov. 25. Senior Makenzi Missey (18 points), junior Payton Stearns (15), senior Peyton Pehle (13) and junior Abigail Reese (10) led the way offensively for De Soto. Missey was a second-team all-JCAA selection last season when she averaged 8.5 points and led the Dragons in assists (2.44) and steals (2.78) per game.
The Tigers scored 41 second-half points and beat visiting Oakville High 75-55 Nov. 24. A second-team all-conference last season, Alyzah Scaggs made all three free-throw attempts, four 3-point baskets and led Festus with 23 points against Oakville (also the Tigers). Jahmeshia Patterson made seven field goals and had 17 points, while teammates Lillian Kennedy (13) and Olivia Madden (10) also scored in double figures. Madden is a returning first-team selection. So is Kennedy, who had 12 steals.
Windsor High tipped off its season in Herculaneum’s new gym and beat the Blackcats of the JCAA small-schools 58-25 Nov. 24. That gave Jeff Stoffey his first victory as head coach of the Owls, who were 3-5 in the conference last year. Stoffey replaced Kim Schmidt, who’d coached them for 11 years. Nine Windsor players scored against Herculaneum, and Haley Rose (honorable mention) led the Owls with 16 points. Lyla Bieser and Ella Montgomery each pulled down 10 rebounds for Windsor.
Perryville High is the other team in the large-schools division and the Pirates were 9-18 overall and 2-6 in the conference. Perryville is bolstered by the return of junior Aby Amberger, who was first team.
The following is an alphabetical breakdown of the JCAA large-schools teams from the county.
De Soto looks to move up in conference
In his second season as head coach at De Soto, James Fox said his starters could change from game to game this year, depending on matchups. Missey, Pehle, Stearns, junior Kennedy Shores and Reese are a good start. Reese is the only forward in the group.
Fox said Missey is very quick off the dribble and creates many scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates.
“She has really worked to become a scorer from all three levels, which will make her even more difficult to guard,” Fox said. “Her speed/quickness will also give her an advantage in creating turnovers on the defensive side of the ball.”
Stearns is a lockdown defender who has put in countless hours to be a three-level scoring threat.
“With that combination and her amazing work ethic, she will be a factor on both sides of the ball,” Fox said.
Shores is a good on-ball defender who can guard the entire floor.
“She is a great rebounder and uses her speed/quickness to be a great transition scoring threat.”
Fox said the Dragons could have several players taking on significant roles off the bench. The key players in these roles are junior forward Mackenzie Weast, junior guard Cassandra Pirtle and freshman guard Maclynn Stearns.
“Each of these players brings unique strengths that can greatly benefit our team depending on the matchups we face from game to game,” Fox said. “As the season progresses, we can also expect added contributions from (junior) Ashlynn Rock, (junior) Lily Gipson, (freshman) Braylee Davis and (freshman) Addilynn Jarvis as they gain varsity experience.”
De Soto is hosting the Fountain City Classic this week.
Festus won 20 games last year
Aaron Portell was chosen the coach of the year in 2024 for St. Pius X in its last season in the JCAA small-schools division. Portell left the Lancers and guided the Tigers to a record of 20-6 and was named the COY for the large-schools in 2025.
Portell currently has 380 career wins and the Tigers could set a school record with 21 victories in a season.
Portell said Madden is a tremendous ball handler, defends well and rebounds well for a guard. She averaged nine points and six boards per game.
“She has a great basketball IQ and sees the floor well,” Portell said. “She has worked hard all summer on her overall game.”
Scaggs (second team) co-led the Tigers with 13.1 points per game and 74 3-pointers.
“If teams are going to play us zone, Alyzah is going to hurt them from the perimeter,” Portell said.
Kennedy was the other co-scoring leader and Portell said she’s a tough match-up.
“She plays like a guard and has a great shot but also can hurt you in the paint with her 5-10 frame.”
A sprinter on the track and field team that won the Class 4 state title in May, Patterson averaged five points last season but has been very dominant in the early going during practice.
“I look at her being a huge difference offensively and defensively for us this season.”
Sophomore guard Abby Abrams is a starter after she played in all 26 games last season and had 4.5 points and about 2 steals and assists per game.
Off the bench, sophomore Kylan Drury will play a lot of key minutes in relief of Patterson when she needs a break or is in foul trouble. Portell said Drury has great size and can also shoot the 3.
“I feel that we will have five girls on the court that can score at any given time,” Portell said. “We like to push the ball in transition and will try to wear teams down with our pace of the game.”
Festus is competing in the Fountain City Classic at De Soto this week.
Experience vital to Hillsboro’s success
Closing in on 1,500 career points, Hilton is one of five senior starters who return to a team that will be hungry for another shot at a district title.
Point guard Kyra Matlock, guards Carlie Galczynski and Katelyn Wiethop and forward Ava Hildebrand were on the all-conference team. Matlock was a first-teamer after averaging more than five assists per game and could reach 500 career assists this season.
This is Andrew Hubbard’s seventh season as head coach. He said that Hilton and Matlock will be asked to do a lot this season on offense and defense. Wiethop is one of the team’s best defenders. Carlei Clubb, Amelia Dickemann, Molly Johnston, Lola Hubbard and Nora Parmeley are top players off the bench.
The Hawks are in the Fredericktown Tournament that wraps up Saturday.
“We play an up-tempo style on offense and defense,” Hubbard said.
Guard heavy Owls want to play up tempo
“We need to try to push the ball up the floor and get baskets in transition,” Stoffey said. “We have a few girls who can shoot the 3 which will help in the half court, but we need to really push the pace of the game. Defensively, we need to create some turnovers to help out our offense. We will try a variety of defenses to keep teams off balance.”
Rose keeps defenses honest on the outside with her perimeter shooting. She led Windsor with 39 baskets from downtown and averaged almost nine points per game. She scored a season-high 22 points against Festus.
“She can really shoot the 3 ball,” Stoffey said. “We really need her to step up for us this season on both ends of the floor. Hopefully, she can add to that total (39 3s) this season. With Brooklyn Johnson out for the season (ACL), so her role is even more important.”
A junior, Johnson led the Owls in assists (2.33) and steals (2.42) per game.
Montgomery didn’t go to the free-throw line a lot last year, but she made 13 of 14 shots from there and finished with just under seven points per game. She played second base for the school’s softball team that finished fourth in the state in Class 4.
“She is long and can create havoc on both ends of the floor,” Stoffey said. “She is incredibly unselfish, but I need her to be more selfish on the offensive end. She can really score with the basketball. To be successful, we need her to really step up.”
A senior center, Bieser, along with Rose, Montgomery, sophomore forward Lexi Adler and junior guard Paige Lorella form Windsor’s starting five.
Freshmen guards Camryn LaPlant and Peyton Stemmler will give an immediate spark off the bench.
“They both are very skilled ball handlers.”
Senior Ariana Eslamian and junior Addison Davis provide defense off the bench. Junior Jayden Estes and sophomore Aila Young could contribute this season.
“We are very young,” Stoffey said. “We hope to see improvement as the season progresses. With so many young players, we expect to have some growing pains along the way, but we should see improvement as the season progresses. We hope to have a winning season, a winning conference record, and hopefully win some games in the postseason. I’m excited to see what we can do and hopefully surprise some people this season.”