As the end of the semester fast approaches, the nights seemingly continue to get colder with the occasional sprinkling of snow, and the dreary school days continue to roll on as usual. With winter break and Christmas by and gone, students become less reliable when it comes to school-related things in general, as they no longer have to worry for fear of retribution from Father Christmas. However, one group of girls continue its stalwart campaign through the threatening enemy regions that are, Kingco 4A.

With an unforgiving practice schedule of Monday through Friday, from 5:30 to 7:30, in addition to three-hour practices on Saturdays, these girls don’t have much time to think of anything else. Us regular kids might have thoughts of summer dancing in our heads already or if you’re a senior, slacking it hard second semester, but these Lady Bulldogs only have one thing in mind, and that’s winning.

However, this season has not been an instant success, with the team corralling a record of 3 – 12 overall, and a 1 – 8 in league record. Coming a couple tough losses, which include a heart breaker to cross-town rival Franklin, and a bunch of recent road losses to Inglemoor and Roosevelt and some exhibition matchups held in Portland, Oregon, have left the girls scrambling to regroup.

“It’s hard to become a really cohesive unit with so many new key players,” said senior captain Kiana Rhem.

This seems to be the only explanation for the losses thus far in the season, as it becomes quite apparent if you ever go to any of their that they are bigger, faster, superiorly athletic, and basically just more intimidating then any teams that they have faced. The underclassmen have been living up to their hype, accounting on average for 43.1 points per out of 51.1. Freshmen standout DeAundreney Dillard-Brown leads the team averaging 9.2 ppg, including a 21 point effort in the Lady Bulldogs first conference victory against the Woodinville Falcons. Despite the bright future, it’s the present that is under the microscope.

“We’re really taking this on a to game basis, and not really harping on the past,”.said sophomore Demarea Caples. “Our eyes are always on the next ahead of us and preparing for what teams are going to throw our way.”

This past Monday, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., the girls participated in the King Holiday classic tournament at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, squaring off against the Issaquah Eagles. After falling behind by 20 in the first half, the Lady Bulldogs were able to regain their composure and win the second half with a final score of 44 – 62.

“The intensity is there. We just need to start channeling that will to win and focus on playing smart, and cutting down on unnecessary turnovers, especially when it comes down to the wire,” said senior captain Lily Ramseyer.

With a tough upcoming games against Lake Washington (11 – 4), and 10th ranked Inglemoor, the Lady Bulldogs definitely have their work cut out for them.

“When push comes to shove, we know we have what it takes to get the job done, and in the end its all just about that W,” said junior captain Kiana Cheng.