Gramps Braggin Rights Missouri Girls Class Five Ratings - 01/10/2022

 The 2021-2022 season could be a challenging one and not just because the class five girls are loaded.  The rampant explosion of the Omnicron variant of Covid 19 is making it hard for teams to field entire teams each game.  While Omnicron is less serious than the Delta version to the vaccinated folks, it is more highly contagious and spreads quicker than the deadly Delta variant.  So team members are getting sick, left and right, but because it seems to be less lethal, kids are bouncing back onto the hardwood courts faster.  

So, is the basketball season at risk like it was in 2020 when championship games were canceled?  Hard to tell but hopefully the season can be completed and players will bounce back quickly, without the long-term post-infection symptoms of the Delta variant.  It's not the most pleasant event to talk about but it is the elephant in the room.

Whitfield leads my class five ratings but another state championship is not a slam dunk.  With Webster Groves right on their heels, West Plains dominating the South-Southwest teams, and Farmington making hay in the Southeast, there will be plenty of competition for the class five championship.  Farmington might not even be the best team in the Bootheel, with Cape Girardeau Notre Dame, nipping at their heels. 

Last year was a Whitfield-West Plains final but class five has become more crowded.  Class six runner-up Webster Groves will have something to say about the play-off scene.  Wouldn't it be fun to see both the Webster boys and girls in the final games?  Well, fun at least for Statemen/Stateswomen fans.

And how could I forget Lift for Life, who won nine straight and upset Skyline for the class three title in 2021?   Now, promoted to class five, the run to a title will have more hurdles, but Lift for Life might just lift their late-season performance again for a championship run.  It will be an exciting March, assuming the elephant has left the room, that is.

Listed below are the links for the other classes that I have rated.  I still have work on classes four, three, and one.  Be patient.  These ratings require a lot of number crunching, but here are the links for class five boys, class six, and class two boys and girls.

If you missed the recent posts on boys and girls ratings, check them out through these links.

Class six girls are HERE:

Class six boys are HERE:

Class two girls are HERE:

Class two boys are HERE:

Class five boys are HERE:

The class five girls' ratings are below.  At the end of the ratings is a second table with teams rated by district.

Be safe, get vaccinated, mask up.

District five is loaded with West Plains, Rolla, Union, Branson and Camdenton, all outstanding teams.  District five is a whopping 10 points better from top to bottom than any other district.