BY CHARLES CHANEY

The Lady Cat Classic is returning to El Dorado High this week and there will be a new school introduced to the field.

The Lady Cat Classic is known for how tough it can be with a mix of 6A and 5A schools who are some of the best in the state. Teams come from all around the state to get tested mid-season and this season will be no different.

Gone is Wichita East from the tournament this season. After the last two seasons that were filled with a game in each tournament where the Wichita East team either were handed multiple technical fouls or stopped playing in protest to the officiating, El Dorado chose to replace the Blue Aces. In their place is the No. 3 team in Class 4A, Topeka Hayden.

The Wildcats will be another tough opponent in an already loaded field. They join 5A runner-up, Maize South and another 5A contender, Kapaun Mount Carmel. There is also 6A squads in Gardner-Edgerton and Mill Valley.

The first round starts with two-time tournament defending champion, Maize South (9-1) playing Augusta (3-5). The Lady Mavericks enter the Lady Cat ranked No. 5 in Class 5A. They haven’t missed too many beats after appearing in the 5A title game last season. While Ashley Singhateh is now at Butler, they still have plenty of scorers and should be the favorite to win the tournament once again.

Augusta has a new coach and a new offense and they’re much improved with the Bourm sisters leading the way. The seniors have been a big focal point of the offense for the last two seasons. The Orioles may be a bit of a dark horse to make some noise in the tournament.

Game two features Kapaun Mt. Carmel (7-3) against Mill Valley (5-5) at 4:15 p.m. Mill Valley finished fifth last season and Kapaun reached the title game before falling to Maize South. They met in the first round last year, with Kapaun blowing out Mill Valley, 50-21.

KMC is led by Zoey Buckner-Franklin, who is one of the top scorers in the state. She transferred in from Wichita Independent and has been an immediate force for the Crusaders. For Mill Valley, they return sophomore Riley Marshall, who was one of the top scorers in last year’s tournament. She scored 27 in the fifth place match and should be one of the top scorers in the tournament once again.

The night slate starts with top-ranked Hayden (10-0) against host El Dorado (1-7). Hayden runs out four seniors and a freshman in their starting lineup and at any point, any of the five could lead them in scoring. Millie Ramsay and Brylee Meier are the two big senior leaders for Hayden. Freshamn Hailey Schmidtlein can get to the line and produce quick points.

El Dorado sports a young line up led by junior Jenna Hadley among others. Hadley can shoot 3s and get to the free throw line. Sophomore Audrina Scott and junior Addison Hull are big parts to how and when the Lady Cats will succeed. Ellee Bressler is huge to the success of this team. She has to stay out of foul trouble for El Dorado to play spoiler. Liz Kemboi plays a lot like her brother. She’s a raw talent that can make plays and is a game changer when she’s on her game.

The final game of the night will be Goddard (4-6) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (5-4). It’s a rematch of last year’s third place game where Gardner-Edgerton beat Goddard, 45-41. They also met the previous year, with Gardner-Edgerton picking up the 54-20 win.

Landri Schaffer is back for the Blazers. She’s averaging 25.1 points on 45 percent shooting per game. She was an all-tournament selection last season and should be one again this year. She’s the highest scoring player in Class 6A according to those who submit statistics to Max Preps, and third highest in the state. She had a tournament high 33 points last year in their game against Goddard.

Goddard is led by sophomore Presley Schmidt, who is averaging 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. She’s gotten to the line a bit, going 56 of 76 this season (74 percent). Senior Marayah Coleman is averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists this year for the Lions. They average 16.1 turnovers per game this year and if theyr’e going to knock off the Blazers, they’ll have to cut those down.

32nd annual Lady Cat Classic

Thursday, Jan. 30
Game 1: Maize South vs. Augusta, 2:30 p.m.
Game 2: Kapaun Mt. Carmel vs. Mill Valley, 4:15 p.m.
Game 3: Topeka Hayden vs. El Dorado, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Gardner-Edgerton vs. Goddard, 7:45 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31
Game 5: Game 3 vs. Game 4 loser, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 1 vs. Game 2 loser, 4:15 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 1 vs. Game 2 winner, 7:45 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1
7th place game: Game 5 vs. Game 6 loser, 11 a.m.
5th place game: Game 5 vs. Game 6 winner, 12:45 p.m.
3rd place game: Game 7 vs. Game 8 loser, 2:30 p.m.
Championship: Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner, 4:15 p.m.

Last season’s results:

31st annual Lady Cat Classic

Thursday, Jan. 25
Game 1: Kapaun 50, Mill Valley 21
Game 2: Gardner-Edgerton 51, Augusta 23
Game 3: Maize South 75, El Dorado 5
Game 4: Goddard 46, Wichita East 36

Friday, Jan. 26
Game 5: Wichita East 56, El Dorado 19
Game 6: Mill Valley 46, Augusta 24
Game 7: Kapaun Mount Carmel 56, Gardner-Edgerton 42
Game 8: Maize South 37, Goddard 30

Saturday, Jan. 27
7th place: Augusta 48, El Dorado 18
5th place: Mill Valley 70, Wichita East 57
3rd place: Gardner-Edgerton 45, Goddard 41
Championship Game: Maize South 48, Kapaun Mount Carmel 43