“Hang the banner.” These three words are the building blocks of the Lady Broncs 24-25 basketball season. Many perceive this as hanging a state championship banner, as the team did in the 23-24 season. However, that is not the only goal head coach Ryan Sullivan has for the season. The team has defined being a Lady Bronc as confident and competitive. “Hang the banner” symbolizes the characteristics the girls are determined to show each day on and off the court.
In preparation for this season, the Lady Broncs did a team “book club” in the fall. The team book club has been a very common tradition throughout the girls program. This is the second year the team has read a book by Alan Stein Jr. The author’s firsthand accounts of how burnout and staying at the top of your game can affect the sport and how to combat that as efficiently as possible. The title for this year’s book club was “Sustain Your Game,” now that the girls are no longer chasing down a better team, rather they have a state championship title of their own to defend.
Although winning the first state title since 2007 is a great confidence booster, that accomplishment is in the past. “We should not think outcome only; we should not think about the state championship game,” said Sullivan. “We have not earned our right to even think that way yet, so hopefully we get to that point but we’re not there yet.” The Lady Broncs are currently 15-5 and are making their way through the conference games in their season; the team’s success will determine where they stand in the eastern regionals and state.
Throughout Sullivan’s five years as head coach, he has found that having seniors is crucial to the leadership of the team. This year’s seniors are Avery McMullen, Kaylee Chase, and Madi Wagner. Each of them is essential to the team’s success but all differ in the traits they bring to the table. Chase has the ability to light up any room she walks in and diffuse situations when they may be getting too serious. “Sometimes things get a little dark – sometimes it’s just got to be funny,” said Chase. McMullen’s competitiveness encourages all of her teammates to strive for the success the team knows to be capable of. Although Wagner is quiet, her substantial work ethic, “leads through action,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan wishes for all of his seniors to leave the program better than they found it. Whether that is making the team chemistry better or showing the underclassmen how to be good leaders, the girls basketball program is much more than their record. Although the program has not always been the best in the state, the foundation that has been built has created this team to be as such.
