Girl among boys - Lauren Lueders excels in a unique situation

A girl playing boys high school sports is not unprecedented, but there are few who have done it as successfully as Saxony Lutheran sophomore basketball player Lauren Lueders.

Lueders, playing for Saxony's first-year varsity program, has averaged 10 points and seven assists per game while helping her team compile a 17-5 record. The Crusaders will begin Class 1 District 2 play at 5:30 p.m. Monday against Marquand, as other schools in classes 1-3 get under way today.

"I am not aware of a female competing in any boys sports in the state of Missouri and having as much success as Lauren's had," Saxony Lutheran coach John Daniel said.

That success prompts the obvious question: How well would she be doing on a girls team? Lueders, who lives in the Altenburg 48 School District, could have enrolled in a public high school at Jackson or Perryville and played girls basketball. It crossed her mind, but she believes she made the right choice.

"I try not to think about it," Lueders said. "This is an awesome situation I get to be in."

Lueders has played well enough among the boys to avoid any regrets. In her first varsity game, she scored 19 points in a blowout win over Chaffee.

"I just think of myself as one of the players," Lueders said. "Everyone has their part on the team, and I just try to do my part."

Lueders proved last year she deserved her part among the boys with solid play in Saxony's schedule against junior varsity and freshman teams. Even before that, many of her present teammates already had been on the court with her in church leagues.

"Coach is really good about showing he believes in everyone on the team," Lueders said. "I don't think I've ever felt I had to prove anything. Everyone on the team knows what I can do."

Opponents also know what she can do. They have kept a close eye on Lueders, often putting the top defender on her. Still, she has shot 39 percent from 3-point range. She is an 81 percent free-throw shooter.

"That just says so much about her character," Daniel said. "She has the pressure of playing on a boys team, and everyone focuses on her."

Said Lueders: "The only goal I really had was to be able to keep up. I didn't know what to expect, or how tough it would be."

The same could be said for the entire squad this season. In its first varsity season with just one senior on the roster, Saxony Lutheran won the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament by knocking off Meadow Heights 71-64 in the title game. Lueders scored 16 points in the win.

Saxony Lutheran faces a tall task if it wants to get out of its district. Top seed Bell City likely will await the Crusaders in the semifinal if they can make it past Marquand.

"We've never had a chance to play anyone of that caliber," Lueders said. "I'm really excited; all of us are. On any given night anything can happen."

The Cubs have been ranked in the top 10 in the state in Class 1 all season and currently are ranked second. Senior Dominitrix Johnson leads the two-time defending district champs, carrying an average of more than 20 points a game.

On the girls side, Delta will try to make another run at the Class 1 state tournament. The Bobcats, fourth last year, has a young squad this season. Freshmen Shea Smith and Kacie Menz have done a bulk of the scoring for the 17-5 Bobcats, who have no seniors on the roster.

Scott County Central is the top seed in the Class 1 District 1 tournament. The Braves are just 12-12 and will have to watch out for Clarkton, the fifth-ranked team in Class 1 and the defending state champion.

Other small schools heading into district play with high seeds include the boys teams from Advance and Scott City. Each has a No. 2 seed going into district play but each faces an unenviable task.

Advance is on a collision course with defending state champion East Carter County in the Class 2 District 2 tournament. Scott City will have to get by Charleston, No. 3 in Class 3 and a final four team last season.