The 5-foot-3 senior point guard led the Indians to a 27-1 record and their second straight Class 3A state title this past season. Ruffridge averaged 30 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the floor. The state's returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, she established new state records with 2,951 career points, 802 assists and 466 three-point shots made.
Ruffridge has maintained a 3.82 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Missouri State University this fall.
A member of the National Honor Society, student council and her school's concert choir, Ruffridge has volunteered locally on behalf of an elementary school mentoring program and as a youth basketball coach. "You will not find a harder worker, a better teammate or a more passionate player than Elle Ruffridge," said Pocahontas Area head coach Robert Maske. "She never lost focus of her goals and made many sacrifices to put in the time practicing. She never wavered in her desire to be the best."
