‘Cats, Lady ‘Cats face unknowns in Berryville

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Cassville boys and girls basketball teams will be participating in the same holiday tournament this year, crossing the state line to take part in the CS Bank Holiday Hoops 2025 in Berryville, Ark.

For the Lady Wildcats, the Arkansas tournament marks a unique change. Cassville had been participating in the Southwest Holiday Tournament each year since 2019, but Coach Clayton Bagby said the opportunity for change arose.

“Scott Wenger, one of our assistant coaches, is friends with the Berryville girls coach, and we know they have a reputation for putting on a good tournament,” Bagby said. “This will give us a chance to see some non-conference and non-district teams that are not on our schedule.”

Crane and Cassville are the only two Missouri schools participating, and the other six in the eight-team event are from Arkansas. The Lady Wildcats open the tournament with a match-up against Green Forest at 10 a.m. on Monday. Valley Springs will the play Crane at 11:20 a.m., Mountain View will face Alpena at 2 p.m., and Berryville will play against Mountain Pine at 6 p.m.

Cassville will face Berryville or Mountain Pine on Tuesday, at 12:40 p.m. with a loss to Green Forest or at 6 p.m. with a win. The championship game is on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

“It will be interesting, Bagby said. Our first game is against Green Forest, and we have film on them but haven’t got to break it down yet. Outside of them, we’ve scouted Berryville and are familiar with Crane, but we don’t know anything about the other teams. We’re excited to see some different teams and how we can compete.”

Bagby said execution will be key for the 6-2 Lady Wildcats, especially in the half-court offense.

“We are a good team on the defensive side and can cause turnovers, but against good teams that can take away the transition, we’ll have to be able to execute in the half-court on the offensive side,” he said.

The Cassville boys basketball team is also going through a tournament change. The Wildcats played at Southwest from 2010-2020, then went to Neosho for two years, and in the last two years has participated in the Seymour Bank Winter Classic in January, making this year the first holiday tournament since 2022.

Mike Ray, Cassville boys basketball coach, said the tournament was scheduled before his hiring, and in his 28 years as a coach in the area, he has never been to Berryville.

“In a way, that makes it really exciting,” he said. “Sometimes, it feels like you play the same teams over and over again. Like, we open up the Crane tournament [Jan. 12-17] against Monett. When you face a team two or three times a year, it’s a grind because you know them and they know you. The fact that we will have a shot clock in Berryville will also be fun.”

Cassville is the only Missouri team in the tournament; all other seven teams are from Arkansas. The Wildcats open play against host Berryville on Monday at 7:20 p.m. Mountain View and West Fork open the day’s slate at 12:40 p.m. Bauxite and Green Forest battle at 3:20 p.m., and Monticello and Valley Springs play at 4:40 p.m. Cassville will play the Monticello or Valley Springs on Tuesday at 2 p.m. with a loss to Berryville or 7:20 p.m. with a win. The championship is at 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

“[Friday] was the first day I have started looking at Berryville,” Ray said. “Ball security will be key for us. We’ve been better at it the last couple weeks, improving in the past 3-4 games, but we want to keep that improvement going. When we do that, we get good shots, and it helps our defense get set.”

Ray said the 3-4 Wildcats are finding their stride under new leadership and after a long football season.

“The guys have been doing a good job buying in,” he said. “It’s a big change, but I am pleased with the effort and attitude. We are trying to get healthy and hope the holiday practice time will help with that. Also, with the football team’s success, we are just now gaining traction and hitting our stride, so we’ll see what we can do in Berryville.”