The Jefferson City Lady Jays are entering the Class 6 basketball postseason with their eyes on the top prize.
The first step toward that is tonight when the Lady Jays travel to Springfield to take on the Central Lady Bulldogs in a sectional game.
"They have one goal in mind and they know what they have to do to go forward to achieve that goal," Jefferson City coach Kay Foster said. "And that starts (tonight)."
Jefferson City (20-2), ranked No. 3 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, will be heading to a historic gym against a historic player.
The Lady Bulldogs (15-12), the District 10 champion, play their games in "The Pit," the oldest gym in Springfield.
"It's going to be a championship-type environment because the noise is going to be crazy in there," Foster said. "It's going to be fun.
"We're going to embrace playing there."
Makaiya Brooks, a 5-9 senior, leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring at 24.1 points per game. Nearly half of the Memphis recruit's shots this season are 3-pointers.
"She has the quickest release I've seen this year, she'll probably shoot it 20-25 times," Foster said. "She has range from the volleyball line in."
Brooks has scored the most points in the history of any public high school player in Springfield history, totaling more than 2,300 points in her career.
Heaven Shockley, a 6-1 sophomore, is next for Central at 10.7 points. Shockley leads the team in rebounding at 7.2.
"She does a lot of nice things and I think she's going to develop into a nice player by the time she is a senior," Foster said.
Aaliyah Pittman, another 6-1 sophomore, averages 8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds.
"We're going to have our hands full," Foster said. "It's going to be a challenge."
Springfield Central has won its last four games, its longest winning streak of the season.
Jefferson City is averaging 62.4 points per game, while allowing 37. Springfield Central is scoring 58 points per game, allowing 55.6.
"The kids have been locked in at practice, they've had great attitudes and we've gotten everything done we needed to do," Foster said.
With a win, Jefferson City would host the winner of tonight's sectional game between second-ranked Kickapoo (26-2) and Nixa (21-7) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.