Higbee coach Tanner Burton notched win 205 at the helm of the Lady Tigers with an 81-24 blowout over Bevier in the team’s home opener on Monday night.

The Tigers now improve to 6-3 on the season, which includes a dramatic 46-44 win over Class 2 Salisbury in the opening round of the Centralia Invitation Tournament a week prior. Higbee lost to Class 4 Boonville in the semifinals, but went toe to toe with another larger team, Class 3 Macon, narrowly falling 49-46 in the third-place game on Friday.

Burton said surpassing 200 wins is great, but he’s ready to hang a banner in the Higbee gym.

“I’ve had a lot of tremendous kids here. We have changed the program,” he said. “I told those kids my first two years when I got here that they were going to make a difference. And they did. They won eight games my first year, and the second year they won 21 games and played in their first-ever district championship appearance. Now we’ve played in four of them. We’re tired of getting second. We’re trying to up the bar. If we win a bunch of games but never get to the postseason and hang banners, do the wins really matter? My answer is no.”

The Tigers have a tremendous start so far amid a schedule that only gets more difficult. On Monday, they take on Lone Jack, which finished third in the Class 3 state tournament a year ago with a 26-4 season. The game will be played at Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City for the 12 Courts of Christmas. A week after that, they face Class 4 Blair Oaks at the Peak Sport & Spine Shootout at Moberly Area Community College to close out 2025.

And the new year doesn’t get any easier, either. On Jan. 2, Higbee travels to St. Joseph to face North Andrew, a district title winner from a year ago. The next day, Higbee is back on the road to the Tipton Latham Bank Shootout against Class 2 Richland.

“We have four neutral site games in a row,” Burton said. “The games at St. Joseph and Tipton are back-to-back days. We will see how that travel impacts us. We’re playing Class 3 and 4 schools, and a Class 1 teams at St. Joseph that won a district title last year. We have a gauntlet heading into Christmas. We’re very front-loaded in talent, so hopefully these tests pay off, and we will reap the dividends when it matters.

“Hopefully in February or March, we’re still having these conversations and all of the battles they’ve been through paid off for them,” Burton added.

And while Monday’s home opener was a fun crowd-pleaser, it doesn’t do much to make Higbee better. The Tigers were able to showcase their talent on the hardwood before a home crowd, though. Senior All-State returner Lauren Spilman scored 18 of her 21 total points in the first half.

“Loren has been in the funk a little bit, so it was nice to see her get into her groove,” Burton said.

Freshman Ava Welch, who has been turning heads with high-scoring performances against larger class teams, went into halftime with 24 points. She would walk away from her first high school home game with a game-high 27 points and six 3-point baskets.

“I always thought she would have the luxury of sitting behind Lauren and Kiersten [Rockett] for a year. She has shown that she doesn’t have to sit behind anybody. She’s just stepping up and playing like she’s been here. It’s fun to watch,” Burton said. “She’s exceptional. I knew she was going to be good. She has a better general basketball IQ than even her sister. She’s very athletic. She has some confidence and swagger.”

Higbee opened hot against Bevier, which entered the game with a 4-2 record.

Junior Kiersten Rockett scored a layup right from the tipoff to kick off a 31-2 opening quarter. By halftime, Higbee was ahead 55-8, with no signs of slowing down.

“We just played Salisbury, Boonville, and Macon. The game slows down when you play Class 1 basketball now,” Burton explained. “It’s at a different speed than Class 3 and 4. I think we just played like we’ve been playing. That was my challenge to them. If we want to be special and do things that have not been done here, we can’t be a team that plays up and down with our competition. We have to find our bar and make sure we’re hitting it every night, regardless of what the competition looks like. And tonight I think we did that.”

Eight Higbee players contributed to the scorebook. Rockett and freshman Kylie Sinker each scored eight points. Junior Karlee Kirkendoll added six, with five from junior Brooke Dougherty off the bench. Junior Natalie Ritter added four, and sophomore Jayla Schaefer posted two.

“It’s fun watching them gel. Nights like tonight, you see how well they move the basketball, and how well they play together as a collective unit.”

Higbee was scheduled to hit the road Tuesday night for a conference game at Norborne (2-2) after the Advertiser had gone to press.

The Lady Tigers have just five home games this season. The next two occur early in the new year. They host Tina-Avalon on Jan. 6, and Hale/Bosworth on Jan. 8.