COACH: KELSEA WHITTEN

Neosho High School’s girls’ varsity basketball team is pushing through a pivotal 2025–26 season, intent on turning steady progress into tangible results in a tough Class 6 District 5 field. The Lady Wildcats are defined by a blend of senior leadership, emerging underclass talent, and a renewed commitment to playing harder, faster, and more connected on both ends of the floor. 
 The foundation of this group starts in the paint, where a senior post anchors Neosho’s front court with size, strength, and experience. Her presence gives the team a true interior focal point, someone who can battle on the glass, defend the rim, and provide reliable touches around the basket when the offense needs to settle. That interior stability helps Neosho compete physically with bigger programs and keeps them in games even when perimeter shots are not falling.
 
 Complementing the post play is a group of forwards who bring toughness and versatility along the front line. These upper-class wings and forwards are asked to do a bit of everything: defend multiple positions, crash the boards, set solid screens, and finish plays created by the guards. Their willingness to embrace role-player responsibilities allows the Lady Wildcats’ system to function, even if they are not always the leading scorers on a given night.
 
 In the back court, Neosho leans heavily on a primary guard who has grown from a steady ball-handler into a more assertive two-way leader. She is tasked with handling pressure, organizing the offense, and looking for her own scoring opportunities when defenses overcommit elsewhere. Her improvement as a shooter and decision-maker gives the Lady Wildcats a calming presence in late-game situations and a dependable initiator possession after possession.
 
 Around her, a promising wave of sophomores and freshmen injects energy, length, and upside into the rotation. Young guards and wings are beginning to carve out roles as on-ball defenders, slashing scorers, and spot-up shooters, gaining valuable varsity experience that should pay off over the next several seasons. Their development is central to Neosho’s long-term vision of returning to sustained competitiveness.
 
 Head coach Kelsea Whitten has made it clear that this program’s future rests on defense and effort. The Lady Wildcats are working to shed any passive tendencies by embracing a more physical, aggressive man-to-man style, aiming to contest every shot, fight through screens, and turn stops into transition chances. Offensively, they emphasize taking care of the ball, making the extra pass, and playing inside-out through their post players to generate higher-percentage looks.
 
 Although the climb back to winning records and postseason noise is gradual, the current Neosho girls squad features many of the necessary ingredients: a senior interior anchor, an evolving back court leader, and a hungry underclass group learning how to compete at a high level. If the team continues to buy into its identity, tighten up defensively, and grow more confident in its roles, this season can mark an important step toward restoring the Lady Wildcats to the standard set by the program’s more successful years.