McPHERSON, Kan. – The McPherson High School Girls Basketball team is looking to build off of last year’s successful season with new head coach Clint Kinnamon in the 2024-25 season.
Kinnamon enters in his 33rd year overall as a head coach with a 520-240 record and has won four state titles, all of which when he was the head coach of the boys team at St. John High School. McPherson will be the 5th school he has coached since 1991, but the first time he’s coached a girls basketball team since coaching at Claflin in 1991-96. He was also an assistant at Missouri State for their women’s team in 1996-97.
Last season’s team finished 20-5 and a perfect 10-0 against AVCTL Div. 3 opponents, making it to the state tournament in Salina. They lost in the state semi-finals to Wellington in overtime, but overcame the loss to beat Ft. Scott in the 3rd Place game.
The Bullpups lose all five of their starters with seniors Karter Alvord, Jayla McLeod, Madi Moors, and Reanna Eilrich, who combined to score 38.2 points per game. Alvord is now playing softball at Barton Community College and McLeod runs track at McPherson College. Their fifth starter they lose is sophomore Jaela Thompson who transferred to Wichita following a season where she scored 10.4 points per game.
They return multiple letter-winners, the highest scorer of which from last season being senior Ellie Bower. The team returns juniors Brooke Doile, Jensyn Alexander, and Maryn Sandbo, and sophomores Piper Alvord, Brynn Littlejohn, and Rylie Whitfield.
Coach Kinnamon credits the team’s biggest strengths this season as shooting, athleticism, toughness, and their competitive spirit. However, they’ll have to play with an inexperienced lineup who have played little or no varsity experience. They will also lack size with no players taller than 5’10”, but Kinnamon says they will look to make up for that with their fundamentals, toughness, and competitiveness.
They will begin the 2024-25 season at home against Dodge City Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6:00 p.m. All varsity girls basketball games will broadcast on 98.9/1540 KMCP.
Schedule:
- 12/5: vs. Dodge City
- 12/10: at Derby
- 12/13: vs. Andover
- 12/17: vs. Buhler
- 12/20: at Circle
- 12/21: vs. Bishop Miege (810 Varsity Showcase at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School)
- 1/7: at Augusta
- 1/10: vs. Mulvane
- 1/14: at Winfield
- 1/21: at El Dorado
- 1/30-2/1: Mid America Classic
- 2/4: vs. Wichita-Collegiate
- 2/11: at Hays
- 2/14: at Buhler
- 2/18: vs. Circle
- 2/21: vs. Augusta
- 2/25: at Mulvane
- 2/27: vs. Winfield