Powered by stifling full-court pressure and scoring by committee, the Hoxie girls have been as dominant as anybody in Class 2A so far this season. 

Hoxie (10-0) is one of just three undefeated teams left in 2A, winning every game by double digits. 

“The biggest thing is they're starting to believe,” said Jake Moss, who is doubling as Hoxie boys and girls basketball head coach this season. “They put in a lot of work and have pushed themselves harder than, I think, they really imagined.

“They're starting to see a lot of that work payoff, and they're starting to believe in themselves and each other. It's really fun to see them come together.”

Hoxie found itself in a rare tight game on Tuesday at TMP-Marian after the Monarchs rallied from a 13-point deficit to tie the game early in the third quarter. But the Indians turned up the pressure and answered with a 22-7 run on the way to a 69-48 win. 

“I keep saying, somebody's going to come hit us in the mouth,” Moss said. “It’s good to see now that somebody's done that, that we can handle it. And hopefully that just creates more confidence for us going forward.”

The Indians returned three starters (Avery Mauck, Allie Gourley and Kendall Baalman) off last season’s team that went 19-4 and lost to TMP in the sub-state final.

An early-season highlight for Hoxie was winning the Purple and Gold Tournament in WaKeeney. The Indians are averaging 68 points per game while holding opponents to under 37. 

Hoxie has relied on a balanced scoring attack. Gourley and Baalman are averaging 12.3 points and 12.1 points, respectively, followed by Evie Schippers (11.8), Mauck (10.6), Camryn Gourley (9.8) and Carley Cooper (7.8). 

“We say to ourselves: The other team has to pick their poison,” Moss said. “They can try and take a couple of players away, and when that happens, other players step up, and so it really makes us hard to guard.”

A staple of the team has been its relentless press and up-tempo style. 

“We got multiple players who can (press), so it's just not two people up front really having to work,” Moss said. “ We can rotate several people in. We can keep throwing bodies at their ball handlers. I think we can wear teams down.”

Moss, the longtime boys basketball coach at Hoxie, is in his first season coaching the girls team. He coached the Hoxie boys for 11 straight seasons before being hired as an assistant coach at Colby Community College in 2022, spending two seasons there. He returned to coach the Hoxie boys last season before opting to coach both teams this season. 

“I thought (coaching both teams) would be something to try,” Moss said. “I'm already at the games, and so I would much rather be doing something than nothing. I'm glad it worked out.

“The biggest thing is probably practice, but I’ve really got to credit the kids. We have one team going in the morning and one in the afternoon, and really there hasn't been any complaints about it. They just embraced it and did the work.”

Hoxie will play at Oberlin-Decatur on Friday before turning its focus to the Mid-Continent League Tournament next week. 

“We've just preached to them mental toughness and physical toughness – those two things have to match each other,” Moss said. “And when we do that and play together, good things happen.”
 

OTHER WESTERN KANSAS GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDOUTS

– Ellinwood, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, moved to 9-0 with a 51-38 win over St. John on Tuesday. Brynn Widener and Julia Schlessiger scored 13 points each in the win. 

– Dighton has won eight straight games since dropping its season opener. Three of those wins have come against ranked teams. The Hornets are coming off double-digit wins against Hodgeman County and Wheatland-Grinnell. 

– Layla Kisner went over the 1,000-point milestone during Southwestern Heights’ 51-22 win over Meade on Tuesday. Kisner is averaging 17.1 points and 5.3 steals for the 9-0 Mustangs. 

– Wallace County’s Jersi Benisch recently went over 1,000 career points. She has already made 100 3-pointers this season. 

– Osborne’s Leavie Riner has scored 35, 30, 34, 17 and 35 points in her last five games. She’s averaging 22 points for the 7-3 Bulldogs. 

– Camden Franklin and Kayte Shively have starred for Rawlins County. Franklin is averaging 20.2 points and has a season-high of 32. Shively is averaging 16.9 points and 13.2 rebounds and has a season-high of 33. 

– Hugoton sophomore Amiley Lewis is averaging 17 points for the Eagles. 

– Hays, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A this season, moved to 9-1 on the season with a 54-21 win over Emporia last Friday. 

– Holcomb, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, is 9-1 on the season. The Longhorns bounced back from its first loss against Goodland to beat Lakin 54-26 on Tuesday. 

– Rock Hills' Bethany Simmelink is averaging 24.5 points per game. Simmelink has scored 20 or more points in all but one game. 

– Emmerson Kirk is averaging 15.7 points for Bucklin, which is 9-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class 1A Division II. 

– Natalie Bixenman is averaging 16.5 points for Wheatland-Grinnell (8-3).