This season, the Lady Jays are 11-0 --- making them a tidy 40-2 since the start of last season -- and are ranked No. 1 in Missouri. They're outscoring their opponents by an average of 52-28, and they've already enjoyed the running clock -- when the lead is 30 or more in the fourth quarter --- in seven times this season.

Not even a fair fight.

"I'm most definitely pleased so far," said Conway, who's in his fifth year with the Lady Jays. "I thought we had a chance to be pretty good, but we lost some pretty good players (to graduation) last year. But we've got some experience and coming back, and we're mixing them in with kids who don't have a lot of varsity experience.

"So I knew it would take us a little bit. Defensively, we're a little bit ahead of our offense because our timing's been off a little bit. But the last couple weeks, our offense has started to get better."

The team did indeed lost some talented seniors, including last season's Missouri Player of the Year and four-year starter, Caitlin Anderson.

"Caitlin was a special player, she led the team both offensively and defensively," Conway said of Anderson, who's now making her mark at Division I Indiana State. "Maybe not in terms of stats, but she was our quarterback."

But junior Hannah Nilges, a returning starter, has made an almost seamless transition from shooting guard to point guard.

"She's a competitor, she doesn't like lose," Conway said. "She's really taken some big steps from last year to this year ... she's much better defensively, she's always been a threat to hit the long ball, and she's starting to come around as far as getting other people involved, too."

Senior Brooke Bates, "who's been really solid," will also see time at the point, freeing up Nilges to get more looks.

Sarah Linthacum, a 6-2 junior, is another returning force, while 6-4 freshman Hannah Linthacum --- yes, the Lady Jays have another Linthacum in the pipeline, live with it, Missouri ---has "come in and done a really good job. She's got some length and can play both inside and out."

Think this team is good? We haven't even mentioned their leading scorer, 6-1 junior Kara Daly, (12.5 ppg., eight rpg.) who can hit a softball a mile and is equally powerful on the basketball court.

Hannah Linthacum is at 11 ppg. and nine rpg., while Sarah Linthacum is establising herself as, perhaps, the team's best overall player --- 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals. Nilges comes in at 10 points and three assists.

"We have really good balance," Conway said. "You can't key on one person, which makes it nice."

While they don't talk about last season, they haven't forgotten how it finished, rest assured. One more win.

"They know that it's not easy," Conway said. "I think they appreciate what happened last year and they want to continue to get better. They realize it takes a lot hard work and everybody has accepted their role. They get along well and they support each other.

"They know what they're capable of doing and they know to be successful, you have to play together and take nothing for granted."

Not every game will finish 52-28, after all.

"I told them before the season that they have a giant bullseye on their back," Conway said, "and that they'd be ready to play every game. I think the girls took that to heart ... they've been locked in since the first practice."

As if the bullseye on their back weren't big enough ...

For the first time in program history, the Lady Jays are nationally ranked, No. 25 by MaxPreps.

"It's a great honor and a nice gesture ... it's a testament to the work they've been putting in," Conway said. "But these girls don't get too high, they're pretty even-keeled."

They let their play do the talking.

One of the highlights for the Jefferson City Ladys so far this season was winning the championship of Jefferson Bank Holiday Hoops Classic in December at Helias.

Lady Jays steamroll to
third title in four years
at Holiday Classic

South Callaway girls
continue to roll, eye
deep postseason run