Tracking the 2008-09 Lady Dawg basketball squad has been a fun ride to say the least, and after earning a spot in the regional tournament this year’s girls in green have etched their names into the Lady Dawg history books.

Names such as Manda Martin, Shanise Graeter, Callie Smith, Kerstyn Towslee, Mandi Lindley, McKinsey Cozart, Eden Sultemeir, Christina Flint, Tara Canty, Brooke Rockafellow, Paige Walker, Anastasia Bingham, Allison McClennen, Stormie Wilfong, Jessica Robinson, and Leah Cotton will long be remembered for this year’s playoff accomplishments.

No doubt it’s been a story book season, but this is just the first chapter of many great ones to come under the direction of Coach Mike Cavender.

This year’s seniors and a handful of standout juniors help set a new standard in Burnet, and while the bar is set high next year’s group got a good taste and will likely set their sights even higher.

In case you missed out, last week’s action started out in Joshua, Texas and the competition was Wichita Falls Herschi, and what a game it was.

The Lady Dawgs were heavy underdogs going in and a quick glance at the Herschi girls was enough to send shivers.

They were tall and talented, but the Lady Dawgs had something you couldn’t measure, heart and plenty of it.

Big plays were made all around and the Lady Dawgs never backed down an inch.

When times got tough the Lady Dawgs found answers, whether it was back-to-back treys by Martin, the skills of Greater taking over, or an under-classmen named Bingham rising to the occasion. The game was one for the ages.

With under a minute to play the Lady Dawgs had built a six point lead, but things were far from over.

Herschi’s fouls turned into missed Burnet free throws and before you knew it it was a two-point game with 4.7 tics left and Herschi had possession.

Two Burnet starters, Martin and Smith had fouled out. Herschi quickly brought the ball down court and with a good last look let one fly from just inside the three point line. You could have heard a pin drop as the ball sailed through the air almost in slow motion.

As it looped around the rim and spun out Burnet fans went wild storming the court knowing their girls had just made a little Burnet Basketball history.

There were plenty of standouts so let’s just say the Lady Dawgs as a whole were players of the week.

Coach Cavender had plenty to say after gathering his thoughts and emotions.

“I have only one word that comes to mine to describe the game, relentless. Unless you saw it with your own eyes you wouldn’t believe how hard these kids played tonight. We had a big turnout from Burnet and the fans helped make a big difference,” said Cavender.

“All the kids came up with big plays throughout the game on offense and battling their size disadvantage on the floor on defense.”

“Sophomore Anastasia Bingham came up huge with her time on the floor after foul trouble set in on Manda Martin early in the second quarter.”

“Shay and Mandi were huge on defense on Herschi’s MVP holding her to five points. Callie, Eden, Shay and Mac came up big keeping their big post players under control on the boards with a combined 23 rebounds between the four players. Shay also had a season high eight assists finding teammates for open shots,” noted Cavender.

“Manda and Brooke came up with a combined total of 22 points on offense while the rest of the team combined to chip in 24. Kerstyn made some great ball saves under the basket and played a key role on defense and also picked up three rebounds. Chris came off the bench and aided in the defense and rebounding areas. Rebounding was a big key for us tonight as well as the strength, play, and support of our bench. It was a great night to be a Bulldog,” said Cavender.

Scoring the points was Martin 12, Rockafellow 10, Bingham 5, Graeter 4, Towslee 4, Smith 4, Lindley 3, Sultemeir 2, and Cozart 2.

The win brought the girls season record to 24 – 10.

Regionals was a long way from home, but certainly worth the trip.

It was nice to see so many Bulldog fans make the long trip to Lubbock and you can bet the girls and coaches appreciated each and everyone.

They played their hearts out, and had plenty of opportunities but it just wasn’t to be. Lubbock Estacado was Burnet’s challenge and those girls had the luxury of playing in their own backyard.