Before Mayse Pippin's junior basketball season at Siloam Springs, head girls coach Tim Rippy labeled her the "X-Factor" in regards to the team's chances for success.
Now a senior for the Lady Panthers, Pippin is a lot more than the "X-Factor."
In a lot of ways, how well the 5-foot-9 forward performs plays a direct role on how the team fares when it takes the court.
"She's a big, important piece to not only our team's success but our aggressiveness," Rippy said of Pippin. "Not everything feeds just off her, but she is definitely a spark that makes us play hard and play aggressive."
Pippin is second on the Lady Panthers in both scoring and rebounding, trailing senior Baily Cameron in both of those categories.
She's averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds as the Lady Panthers (12-8, 2-5 7A/6A-Central) start the second tour the conference at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Mount St. Mary.
Pippin leads the team in field goal percentage, having made 74 of 128 shots (57 percent). The bulk of those attempts has come from attacking the basket inside, and that's when Pippin and the Lady Panthers are at their best, Rippy said.
"When she is aggressively attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line and getting to the glass offensively and defensively, it's such a boost to our team," Rippy said. "There's been periods where she'll carry us through stretches in games. She's definitely capable of doing that."
Rippy said Pippin has improved her ability to absorb contact on a shot attempt and still find ways to finish plays.
"I feel like she gets hit almost on every shot in the paint," Rippy said. "A lot of times she gets the opportunity for three-point plays. She's so strong, a lot of times it doesn't get called because she goes right through the contact and scores.
"She's extremely athletic. She has the mentality that she will score, even if there's a defender in her way. Because of her athleticism and strength -- that combination combined -- she's able to make a few plays that a lot of players can't."
Pippin isn't limited to attacking the basket. She can also hit the mid-range jump shot and can step out and hit the 3-pointer.
"She's got to look to attack the basket," Rippy said. "She's got to look to take those mid-range jumpers when they're open. She still has to do the dirty work and be a force on the glass for us and get second-chance points. Really that's when she's at her best -- when she's doing all three of those things at the same time."
Pippin is coming off her best offensive performance of the season in last Friday's game at Bryant, where she scored a career-high 23 points in the Lady Panthers' 65-44 loss.
"She really played well on the road and had the matchup where they kind of focused their attention to Baily Cameron's side," Rippy said. "She had to be the X-factor. She kept us in the ballgame for a long time with the way that she played."
Pippin is often a matchup nightmare for opponents. At 5-foot-9, she's quick enough to drive past bigger, slower players and attack the basket. She's also strong enough to post up smaller players and gain an advantage inside.
"Usually, if my girl is short I'll try and post up," she said. "If she's tall and slower, I'll try and drive."
Pippin said that in the Lady Panthers' last game she knew she would have an advantage most of the night.
"We kind of talked before the game and (Rippy) said that I would have a mismatch on me," Pippin said. "I would either have a smaller guard or a taller post, so going into the game, I remembered that."
Pippin's strong senior season might carry over into playing at the next level, though she's still trying to decide if that's what she wants to do.
"It's a possibility," she said. "I am still trying to decide, but it's a definite possibility."
In the meantime, the Lady Panthers just want Pippin to keep up her strong play heading into the second half of conference.
"Continue to do what she's doing," Rippy said, "because if she does, most teams aren't going to be able to take her and Cameron inside at the same time. They're going to have to key on one or the other. If you put that many points down there, hopefully our guards will be playing H-O-R-S-E on the perimeter."
Sports on 02/04/2015