From left, Dutchtown's Victoria Nelson, Tiara Scott, and Domonique Clune.
As anyone in the Lady Bulldogs locker room will tell you, that’s not good enough.
Fast forward to the present — where this squad is determined to author a much different ending.
“We all remember last year,” said Dutchtown coach April Tate, referring to her club’s premature exit — as a No. 2 seed via a close loss to McIntosh — in the region tourney
“We came out even hungrier this season,” she added. “We made up in our minds that it’s just not good enough to have a great record … an appearance in the state playoffs dictate whether you had a good season.”
The Lady Bulldogs, who wrap up regular season play this week, will most likely find themselves in the same position heading into Region 4-AAAA tournament play — which gets underway Feb. 9 — as last year.
Dutchtown is currently in second place in the league’s Division A standings behind frontrunner Woodland. (The Lady Bulldogs lost by 10 back on Jan. 18 and are set to clash again this week.)
Tate and company, taking the one-game-at-a-time approach, will undoubtedly bring their lunch pails to the gym with them in an effort to out-work the opposing squads standing in their way.
Dutchtown, boasting an unbalanced mix of savvy seniors and talented underclassmen, will be a tough out for any caliber team.
The team’s do-it-all leader Domonique Clune has gotten plenty of help this season. Sydney Gunby has stretched defenses with her 3-point shooting.
Meanwhile, fellow senior Victoria Nelson has come into her own at the point guard position.
Its youth is also serving the team well. Sophomore post Tiara Scott draws a lot of attention with her skillset on the block. And, 6 foot 1 freshman Kamera Harris has the makings of a shot-blocking machine.
Senior and “team workhorse” Kivanna Kudratt — shut down by a recent appendectomy — could possibly return to lend a hand to the Lady Bulldogs in their postseason push.
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