Inductees

Walk into the gym at Kickapoo High School, and it’s understandable why jaws drop in awe. See the banners of the six girls basketball state championships? And the retired jerseys of 24 All-State players?

However, in the fall of 1973, before the Lady Chiefs’ first ever practice – and just a year after federal Title IX legislation essentially created women’s sports at public schools – this was the reality: Uniforms were to be shared with the volleyball and track and field programs. A leather basketball wouldn’t be available for another year.

Fortunately, thanks to the determination and hard work of eager players and a passionate coach named Sue Schuble, from that gym rose one of the state’s best. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Kickapoo High School Girls Basketball Program with the Class of 2017.

Entering the 2017-2018 season, the Lady Chiefs had compiled an overall record of 921-289 (.761 winning percentage).

Along the way, Kickapoo advanced to 12 state semifinals, winning six state championships (1985, 1987, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2016) and finishing as state runners-up twice (1993, 1994). Kickapoo’s 2010 team placed third, while the Lady Chiefs brought home state fourth-place hardware in 1975, 1976 and 1999.

The 2003 team (31-0) earned a No. 13 national ranking by USA Today, while the 2016 team was one of only 20 teams – out of 40,000 – to be named to the 11^th MaxPreps Tour of Champions.

All this for a program that has been led by only three head coaches – Schuble (1973 to 2001), the late Stephanie Phillips (2001 to 2010) and Jim Pendergrass (2010 to current).

“Our schools in Springfield had the foresight to hire women for sports programs,” Schuble said. “But it was very much a step-one beginning. It wasn’t anything like what programs are like today.”

In essence, Schuble (MSHOF 1998) built a solid foundation.

“We had a lot of interest in the beginning,” Schuble said. “But, truthfully, they scheduled games on Wednesday nights, and that conflicted with church. We also needed a JV team and eventually added a freshman team.”

“I have to give credit to Edsel Matthews for helping us expand the program,” Schuble added of the former longtime athletic director of Springfield Public Schools. “When we wanted to play teams out of town, he allowed us.”

Supportive parents and coverage from the Springfield News-Leader played key roles, too, in building participation numbers.

“A lot of the smaller schools had basketball programs already. When we started, we were at a real disadvantage. They had junior high programs,” Schuble said. “It took a while to get organized.”

Eventually, Kickapoo was a basketball machine.

The 24 All-State selections ranged from decade to decade: Kelly May, Shelly Allie, Ronda Hubbard, Patty Porter, Karissa McCarter, Kasie Pittman, Jenny Anderson Sledge, Ashley Atkinson, Tasha Neal, Codi Walker, Erin Jones, Molly Carter, Laura Granzow, Kailey Mock, Heather Ezell, Great Wiersch, Hannah Carter, Alicia  Garoutte, Casey Carroll, Makenzie Smith, Annie Armstrong, Laura Kierkant, Jordan Sanders and Jordan Wersinger.

“It’s hard not to talk about tradition without talking about the leadership we had,” said Sledge, a mid-1990s player. “(Schuble) always blended so much fun and silliness and laughter with work that you hardly knew you were working. Practices would fly.”

Kickapoo teams were defined by intensive defensive play and creative offenses. Schuble employed techniques from the greats in college basketball such as John Wooden and Dean Smith.

Phillips brought even more intensity to the program, defined in her era by a News-Leader photo showing her pumping her fist and elbow during a significant win.

“If Coach Phillips heard us say we were good, we would have been benched. We had to stay on the grind,” said Mock, a member of the 2001 and 2003 state title teams. “Just to say you were a Kickapoo Lady Chief, pride was deep down inside.”

Assistant coaches also made a difference. Among them were Hoyle Massey, Anita McCoy Kissinger, Ben Byrd, Debbie Downs, Susan Braughton, Leslie Hanchey, Erica Brummell and Kayla Daniels.

“We’ve had a lot of great players along the way – very hard-working players who put the team first above their personal goals,” Pendergrass said. “And parents gave the coaches an opportunity to coach their kids and coach hard.”

One motivator was the fear of losing.

“You always wanted to be the best, you didn’t ever want to have any letdowns,” Pendergrass said. “You walk in there every day and see the banners and what’s been done before and you know the expectations.”