Casler’s Double-Double Leads Lady Tigers to Opening Win

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (Nov. 19, 2025) The Lady Tiger basketball team opened up the season on their home court, honoring their late assistant coach Tony Atkins with a 56-42 win over the Lafayette County Huskers. Atkins, a longtime assistant coach under head coach JD Biermann, passed away unexpectedly in late July of this year.

Senior Bella Loeffert opened up the scoring for the Lady Tigers on a rebound and a put-back in front of the basket 27 seconds into the game. Senior Josie Casler drained a three from the corner to extend the lead to 5-0 on the next trip down the floor. The Huskers put in a basket and a free throw to cut the lead to 5-3, but the Lady Tigers pushed the lead to 14-10 after the first quarter.

Casler opened up with a basket from the left block at the 7:34 mark of the second quarter, and sophomore Reece Ryan dropped in a floater from the right block to extend the lead to 18-10. The Huskers outscored the Lady Tigers 11-9 the rest of the half, with the halftime score sitting at 27-21 in favor of the Lady Tigers.

A 15-point third quarter was the top offensive quarter for the Lady Tigers while holding Lafayette County to a game-low 8 points. The Lady Tigers finished off the Huskers with a 14-13 fourth quarter to come away with the 56-42 win. The defense forced 15 Husker turnovers that turned into 19 points for the Lady Tigers.

Casler led the way in scoring with 25 points on the night. She was 4-4 from beyond the three-point arc and added 11 rebounds for a double-double to start the season. Loeffert scored 11 points to go with 7 rebounds. Ryan and senior Kinley Rogers had 5 points each, with junior Jaedyn Wilkins scoring four, and 3 points each from senior Kayden Rogers and junior Lara Hutton.