No matter what else happens during the next few days at the Class 1 Final Four, one thing is for certain: The Tuscumbia Lady Lions won't be intimidated by any of the teams they see.
After narrowly missing the state playoffs last season, the Lady Lions knew they'd be returning a veteran squad this time around. With that in mind, they put together a taxing schedule where out of the 26 regular-season games, only eight were against Class 1 schools. They played against two from Class 5, one from Class 4, six from Class 3 and nine from Class 2.
"The message from the start was we put all those teams on there for a reason," Tuscumbia coach Kyle Middleton said. "We wanted to be battle-tested, so that once we got to Class 1 districts, there wasn't going to be anything we'd see that we hadn't seen already."
And regardless of class, Tuscumbia got the best effort of each team it faced.
"Every team we played, we got their best shot," Middleton said. "We took it as a sign of respect and learned more from teams. We relished being in that role of, "Come give us your best.'"
The Lady Lions handled it well from the start, ripping off six straight wins to begin the season. That was one of three stretches where they won six or more in a row, including one streak where they captured 12 straight.
Tuscumbia heads into the Final Four having won seven straight and nine of 10.
The seeds for this year's success were sown at the end of last season. Tuscumbia lost by one point in overtime to St. Elizabeth, which then lost in the next game to Walnut Grove, which won its second consecutive state title.
"It felt like someone punched us in the stomach, not being able to get out of districts, because us, St. Elizabeth and Walnut Grove all had a good chance to go far," Middleton said. "We just had to suck it up and think it was our year this year."
The Lady Lions responded with a 27-3 season which has them taking on Naylor (22-6) at noon today at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.
"When we go see Naylor, who starts girls who are 5-10, 5-10, 5-11 and 6-foot, we're not going to be intimidated, because we've played someone like the Carl Junction girls (in the Eldon Tournament), who are just as big," Middleton said. "And even when you talk about Walnut Grove, the defending champions, I don't think we'll be in intimidated playing them like we might be if we had just played a Class 1 schedule. That's why we wanted to get those teams on there."
Though the Lady Lions play just eight players, it's a veteran squad that boasts three seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and one freshman.
"I talk about it all the time with my three seniors (Tempary Gunter, Kendra Vaughan and Summer Rush)," Middleton said. "There's been games this year they would have lost as freshmen, because they didn't have the killer instinct.
"We got down to Lebanon at the Eldon Tournament, and just last week got down nine to Mercer in first quarter (of the quarterfinals). Those are game they don't win as freshmen. As juniors and seniors, they're a bunch of warriors."
Tuscumbia boasts a wealth of weapons, as Vaughan leads the scoring with 19.6 points per game and junior TaKayla Gunter is close behind at 19.3. Tempary Gunter is next at 14.6 and junior MaKayla Vaughan is close to double digits at 9.7.
"This is something I've never had before - it's unbelievable that any of the five starters can get in double figures on any night," Middleton said. "Like the game against Plato, where they played a triangle-and-two (defense) against us, and Kendra Vaughan had 26 points in the first half. Or when Kendra went down with an ankle injury against Glasgow last week (in the sectional round), other girls stepped up.
"I'm just so blessed to have the girls I have on this team."
Middleton added he's been equally blessed by the Tuscumbia community.
"I moved down here four years ago and didn't know a single soul, my wife and I just wanted to get away," he said. "This community opened its arms, which says a lot about how close they all are. What I've experienced over the past four years, I will take away with the rest of my life. They welcomed us with open arms."
It just one more reason Middleton would like to come away with two more wins this season. For the Lady Lions to have success at the Final Four, they know they're going to exploit one advantage they have.
"We're just going to have to outrun these teams," Middleton said. "We're athletic and we hope we can get them tired."
It starts with Naylor and its huge lineup.
"We've watched some film on them and they are big," Middleton said. "They pound the ball inside and play good defense. We expect to see a lot of 1-3-1 zone because they're so long."
In a bit of a scheduling quirk, Naylor has played just 18 different teams in its 28 games this year. The Lady Eagles played Greenville and Neelyville three times each and played a pair of games against Couch, Malden, East Carter, Twin Rivers, Poplar Bluff and Corning, Ark. Naylor and Tuscumbia have no common opponents this season.
The other semifinal will match up Walnut Grove (29-1) and Southwest: Livingston County (23-4) at 1:40 p.m.
In addition to being the two-time defending state champion, Walnut Grove is making its fourth straight trip to the Final Four. The Lady Tigers almost made it a three-peat by finishing second in 2012.
"Walnut Grove is a dynasty right now," Middleton said. "We're just hoping to get a chance to play them, and hopefully beat them."
Southwest, meanwhile, has held an opponent to single digits twice this season, ripping Breckenridge 66-7 and blasting Hale 77-8. The Lady Wildcats almost did it a third time, as they opened their district tournament with a 65-10 rout of Breckenridge.
After today, action shifts to Mizzou Arena. The semifinal losers will play for third at 4:15 p.m. Friday, while the winners will meet at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for the championship.