The boys’ Bulldog’s look to improve themselves after the loss at districts. They still hold their heads high after the heavy loss.

“We played a tough Waynesville team in the first round. They were very athletic which made it a challenge. We started off really strong but then kind of fell apart in the end,” senior Michael Janke said.

They worked hard all season and were able to come out better than before, but weren’t able to achieve everything they wanted to, despite the effort.

“We achieved some of the goals we had set and tied our school record for our Ozark Conference record but fell short on winning districts,” junior Hunter Short said.

Players on the team faced tough adversity but were able to power through and stay strong.

“We faced our season’s worth of hardships. We were lucky to not have any season ending injuries throughout the year. But we had cold nights and sick days the normal stuff you get every year,” Short said.

Practice for the Bulldogs is rigorous both mentally and physically and prepares players for the challenges they face on the court.

“Practice consists of lots of drills, shooting, and review. We do drills such as blockout drill and z drills. We get lots of shooting such as partner shooting and guards and bigs. We do a ten second drill where you practice getting up and down the floor in ten seconds. We also review our plays and prep for our next game,” Short said.

The Bulldogs are more of a family than a basketball team. They make memories as well as hoops.

“I just enjoyed being with the team. We had great chemistry and we all got along well,” Short said.

The team is continuing to set objectives for next year to push the boundaries and break new ground.

“Our goals for next year are to improve our record and be contending for an Ozark Conference Championship. Also even more importantly try to win us another district championship,” Short said.

The lady Bulldogs played a hard season and put forth a lot of effort this year and made it to the semi-finals.

“We actually lost in the semi-finals game by two points with a few seconds left,” senior Andrea Zalis said.

Even though they had a tough time in the beginning of the season the team worked hard to turn it around.

“A lot of it was our losing streak…You can only slide down so far before going back up. So that was our goal in districts, to win. Even though we didn’t achieve that I think we got closer as a team and just fought till the end,” Zalis said.

After such a rollercoaster of a season, the seniors are ready to say goodbye to a

“I’ll miss the coaches the most. I’ve been on varsity since I was a freshman. I’ve gotten really close with Coach Swafford and Coach Luna now and it’s just going to be really hard [not] to miss them. A lot of the girls I have played with who are younger than me, even though I don’t have any that graduated besides me, I’ve been with since about fourth grade. So I’ve known them for a really long time and it’s going to be hard to leave them but im ready to move on to college ball,” Zalis said.

How a team cooperates can make or break a season. The team has to be able to communicate or your team will fall apart at the seams.

“You have to really work well with others. Even if you don’t agree with what they say, you have to find a way to compromise and just work for each other and towards the same goal and you’re all there for the same reason: just to work hard while you’re all there together,” Zalis said.

Zalis is ready to move on with their future plans and take with her the lessons she learned throughout he basketball season.

Even though the season is over, players are already forming new goals for next season. They are determined to achieve them and go further than this year.

“Win districts, have a winning record, and to stay close as a team like we were this season,” sophomore Shannon McCaul said.

The season left many good memories for the teammates. From practices to games the girls spend so much time together and grow closer than ever before.

“Kayla Reed’s twerk in the senior night dance and dancing and screaming before our games in the locker room are some of my favorite. But my all time favorite was when Gabe Otte tripped twice in a row at our Glendale game my freshman year,” McCaul said.

The boys’ basketball team lost to Waynesville in districts.

“We played a tough Waynesville team in the first round. They were very athletic which made it a challenge. We started off really strong but then kind of fell apart in the end,” senior Michael Janke said.

They worked really hard all season but didn’t end up meeting their final goal.

“We achieved some of the goals we had set and tied our school record for our Ozark Conference record but fell short on winning districts,” junior Hunter Short said.

Players faced some difficulties but stayed strong through most of it.

“We faced our season’s worth of hardships. We were lucky to not have any season ending injuries throughout the year. But we had cold nights and sick days the normal stuff you get every year,” Short said.

The practices were intense and helped to ready the team for the upcoming games.

“Practice consists of lots of drills, shooting, and review. We do drills such as blockout drill and z drills. We get lots of shooting such as partner shooting and guards and bigs. We do a ten second drill where you practice getting up and down the floor in ten seconds. We also review our plays and prep for our next game,” Short said.

The team has many fond memories together.

“I just enjoyed being with the team. We had great chemistry and we all got along well,” Short said.

The team is already setting goals for next season.

“Our goals for next year are to improve our record and be contending for an Ozark Conference Championship. Also even more importantly try to win us another district championship,” Short said.