Inductees

In southwest Missouri, in the Cedar County town called Stockton, the girls basketball team has long galvanized the community.

In fact, stand in the old gym, and one can imagine crowds packed elbow to elbow and roaring during state championship runs of the early 2000s.

Over at the new high school, look to the left as you enter and notice the state hardware resting in a trophy case, with the west wall of the nearby gymnasium also showcasing a breathtaking number of postseason accomplishments.

What a niche the Lady Tigers have carved out, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Stockton High School Girls Basketball Program with the Class of 2018.

From here have risen six Final Four teams. That includes four state champions – in 2001 in Class 2, and in Class 3 in 2003, 2004 and 2011 – as well as a third-place finisher (2002) and state runner-up (2012).

The tradition includes nine conference championships, (the first in 1976) as well as 10 district titles (the first in 1981) and eight quarterfinal berths.

Why all of the success?

“They were as tough as any guys I ever coached,” was the compliment that former coach Tony Armstrong (MSHOF 2018) paid to Stockton basketball as a whole. He coached here from 1999 to 2004. “And they were really talented. Plus, they were stubborn, in a positive way.”

Armstrong’s teams certainly established Stockton’s statewide profile, as the Lady Tigers were 160-20 in his six seasons.

Those teams rolled up their sleeves and built the foundation. In fact, Armstrong would arrive to summer workouts and sometimes spot players sleeping in cars, despite them having returned only hours earlier from out-of-town competitions in various sports.

The 1999 and 2000 teams set the stage with a combined 48 wins and conference titles.

The 2001 team then won the program’s first state title, rallying for 25 wins after losing two starters, Rutledge and Jessica Stanley, to knee injuries early in the season. Stockton’s eventual all-time leading scorer, Jenna Armstrong, scored 32 points in the finale.

“We all just really loved the game. And it came together at the right time, in terms of a lot of community support and a lot of people who loved the game,” said Kara Rutledge Lasater, a 2002 graduate. “All of us were just really competitive.”

The program’s first 30-win season belonged to the 2002 team, which suffered a loss to eventual state champion Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the 2003 state championship team stormed to a 28-2 record, with Kiana Bock’s buzzer-beater in the quarterfinals among the most memorable plays in Stockton history.

The 2004 team finished 30-1, with its only loss to defending Class 5 state champion Kickapoo.

Tradition did not end there.

Coach Richard Driscoll’s teams were 106-39 from 2007 to 2011, including a 28-win state championship season in 2011. Meanwhile, Kevin Burns’ teams earned 98 victories from 2012 to 2016.

All this from a program with intriguing roots, which are believed to be traced to as early as the winter of 1916-1917, considering girls basketball – with a schedule and a team photo that includes “Champions 1917” written on a basketball – appears in Stockton’s inaugural high school yearbook.

All these years later, a framed photo of a 1926 team still hangs in the administration office.

However, the program faded. Eventually, it was re-launched in the fall of 1974, two years after passage of federal Title IX legislation that required public schools to offer sports teams for girls.

In 44 seasons since, Stockton has a 619-495 record, or 169-139 in conference play. That covers 25 winning seasons, including a 6-0 mark in the inaugural season under coach Betty Dilbeck.

Steve Hancock’s 1981 team was a 15-game winner en route to a district title, while the 1992, 1993 and 1994 teams under Mike Smith enjoyed 16-, 18- and 19-win seasons.

Overall, 13 Lady Tigers have earned a combined 31 All-State honors beginning with Debby Norman in 1981. The others are Armstrong (3), Rutledge, Bock (6), Kyla Burns (4), Stanley (3), Mallory Stanley, Chayla Rutledge (3), Kaitlan Cramer (4), Ashli Burton, Garrett Burton, Jolene Shipps and Sydnee Garrett.

“Our common thread was how hard you had to work,” said Garrett Burton Whitesell. “After the season was over, we took only a couple of days off and came back for our offseason. We played spring ball. We played summer ball. We had weights. We worked hard, and we never stopped stopped playing.”