Neal leads team as lone senior

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Senior Sidney Neal receives congratulations. from her team on honors received at the preview tourney

Triton Kielhorn, Staff Writer

 The girls basketball team had a great performance last week in their tournament, beating out the other teams and maintaining  their undefeated streak.

Senior Sidney Neal is the only senior this year, but she led the team to a dominant performance. “ I feel like we played very well and exceeded our expectations,” Neal said. 

With being the only senior comes the expectations of leadership. However, Neal doesn’t feel that pressure. She feels the juniors have stepped up to help her out. “I honestly don’t feel the pressure because I feel like the juniors really stepped up in leading the team as well,” Neal said. 

This is Neal’s last year as a Lady Bulldog . This hasn’t really set in with Neal quite yet. “That feeling hasn’t really set in yet. I think it will hit me really hard on senior night or our last night,” Neal said. 

Neal isn’t excited about moving on to the next step in her life, but she knows that it is coming sooner rather than later. “I’m definitely nervous. I don’t like being away from my family, and I am not very with things changing,” Neal said. 

Neal has been a part of the Lady Bulldogs  basketball team all four years of her high school career. With this being her last year, Neal made some memories. “My favorite memory was the Rolla trip. It was really fun and it gave me the opportunity to get closer to my teammates,” Neal said. 

Neal has already noticed some improvement in the team. She believes junior Laynie Kleinfeldt has improved the most, but she also believes the entire team has improved immensely.  “I think we all improved a lot as a team and how we play on the court. I think Laynie has improved the most over the years. Not just on the court, but her confidence as well,” Neal said. 

Neal wants her last season to be the best she’s ever had with her teammates. “In my last basketball season here, I would like to win a Regional,” Neal said. 

Neal is hoping to close out her career here at HHS with a bang, and hopes to bring home the regional title.