Top-ranked Andover Central picks up where it left off
ANDOVER, Kan. (BVM) 鈥� Stana Jefferson has led some very successful teams over the course of her long tenure as Andover Central High School鈥檚 girls basketball coach. The Jaguars have reached the Final Four of the KSHSAA state tournament six times since 2006, with two of those teams, 2008 and 2010, completing undefeated state championship runs.
While it鈥檚 been more than a decade since Central has achieved such perfection, Jefferson currently has a group of players with the potential to put together a similarly special season this year.
鈥淚 have a lot of pictures of those [2008 and 2010] teams and they always ask me questions about them,鈥� Jefferson said of this year鈥檚 squad, which is off to a 6-0 start. 鈥樷�淲ell how did they handle this and how did they handle that?鈥� and that makes it special to me because they want to reach and strive to what those teams did in 2008 and 2010.鈥�
Expectations are high this year for the Jaguars, who are the No. 1-ranked Class 5A team in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, but the same could be said for last year鈥檚 team, which had to handle something unlike anything any previous Central team has before. The Jaguars were 22-1 and reached the Class 5A state semifinals before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was a devastating blow to Central just as it was for so many other teams across the country who saw their seasons end prematurely. But many of those same players on last year鈥檚 team have returned this season, and it鈥檚 almost as if they鈥檝e picked up right where they left off.
鈥淭he girls really never stopped the season,鈥� Jefferson said. 鈥淚t was kind of like we went on quarantine, they all just kept working out, we came back together this summer when we were allowed to and when we started up this year it was like last year never really ended.鈥澛�
The Jaguars鈥� top five scorers from last season are back, including the team鈥檚 only two seniors, Bailey Wilborn, a University of Maine commit whose 14.3 points per game are second-best on the team, and Jaden Newfarmer (6.7 ppg), a Washburn University pledge. The team鈥檚 top underclassman, meanwhile, is just scratching the surface of her potential. Sophomore Maddi Amekporfor (12 ppg) is Central鈥檚 third-leading scorer again after making an immediate impact as a freshman last year.
鈥淪he has no clue just how good she can eventually be,鈥� Jefferson said. 鈥淛ust even from last year to this year, she鈥檚 starting to develop other parts of her game. We’re going to watch over the next couple of years and she鈥檚 going to be pretty exciting to watch.鈥�
Unlike Amekporfor, junior Ellie Stearns didn鈥檛 get to play her freshman year because of an injury, but she played a big role in her first season of high school basketball as a sophomore, and she鈥檚 averaging 11 points as a junior. But Stearns, who Jefferson calls a 鈥渇ierce competitor,鈥� is much more than just another scorer for the Jaguars.
鈥淪he鈥檚 got a great IQ of the game and she鈥檚 the one who sees the extra pass and she sees what鈥檚 coming,鈥� Jefferson said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a great defensive player and she鈥檚 made all of my other players better when she guards them in practice.鈥�
Wilborn, Newfarmer, Amekporfor and Stearns are part of a strong supporting cast for the Jaguars鈥� unquestionable star player. Junior standout Brittany Harshaw has been Central鈥檚 best player since she first stepped on the court as a freshman and she鈥檚 continued to get better every year. The 6-foot Creighton University commit is averaging 20 points this season after leading the Jaguars with 17 per game as a sophomore and 14 per game as a freshman.聽
鈥淪he went through a great maturing stage,鈥� Jefferson said. 鈥淚 told her, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 be one-dimensional. If you want to go on and play and be impactful into a good college program, you have to develop every part of your game,鈥� and I think that鈥檚 where she鈥檚 at right now.鈥�
With Harshaw leading the way for a talented and experienced group of players who are determined to finish what they started last season, Jefferson might be coaching the next team to achieve the level of success that future Jaguars will strive for in years to come.
鈥淚 always tell them, 鈥榊ou have all of the potential that those other teams who went undefeated did,鈥欌�� Jefferson said. 鈥淚f we can keep it all together, we have the potential to win a state championship. I truly believe that.鈥�
