Basketball season is over, but notoriety for the Wildcats from their efforts from this past winter keep rolling in.

Cuba juniors Braden Gipson, Leah Schmidt and Jaylen Haffer were all named to the Central Missouri Media Class 4 All-District first team by local writers and media members. Fellow Lady Wildcat junior Mya Garbo was named a second team All-District selection along with Bourbon senior Kaitlyn King. 

Gipson, who has started for Cuba since he was a freshman, ascended from a pass-first point guard in his first two seasons to the team’s leading scorer in his junior season. He led the Wildcats with 16.3 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game and shot a scorching 91.8% from the free throw line. Gipson drained a team-high 72 three-pointers on the season, which were six shy of Cuba’s all-time record of 78 three-pointers in a season. He netted 424 points this past season and currently sits at 677 points in his high school career. With a strong senior season, Gipson should surpass the illustrious 1,000 point scoring mark next winter. He’s moved on to baseball season, where he is a reigning all-conference selection and is in line to be Cuba’s number one pitcher and starting shortstop when he’s not on the mound.

Haffer was Cuba’s best all-around player on a team that won 21 games and reached the Class 4 district 3 finals. Haffer tallied 11 points per game and registered team-highs of 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 steals a game. She recorded 10 double-doubles with points and rebounds and grabbed a season-high 18 boards on Jan. 31 against Steelville. This is her second time earning a first team All-District selection this year, after receiving the recognition as a Lady Wildcat volleyball player during the fall. 

Schmidt parlayed a strong sophomore season into a brilliant junior year. She led the Lady Cats with 14.2 points per game while adding 3.2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.5 steals a game. Schmidt reached double-digit scoring totals in 15 consecutive games from Dec. 31 to March 4, which included four straight games where she netted at least 20 points. 

Garbo was an instrumental piece in Cuba’s stellar season. She would’ve been named to the all-defensive team in the district if one existed. Garbo swiped at least five steals nine times, which included a ridiculous 13-theft game on Feb. 13 against Bourbon in which she sat out the entire fourth quarter. Garbo finished with averages of 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.5 steals per game and will return with her fellow juniors looking to help obtain Cuba’s first ever Class 4 District 3 championship after falling one game short this season.

King finished her senior season for Bourbon averaging 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds while logging team-highs of 3.4 assists, 2.8 steals and one block per game. She was the Lady Warhawks lead ball handler, and often looked for her teammates before her own shot. King tallied a season-high nine assists twice and swiped at least five steals seven times throughout her final campaign.