Jade King made sure her fellow seniors ended their basketball career at ZHS on a high note as she scored 23 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 61-18 win over Academy at the Lakes.
King, Allison McCullough, Rileigh Hoover, Naljah Gildon, Alleaona Searight and Tim’Mia Clemons were honored before tonight’s regular season finale at the Dog House. The six seniors and their families took part in the pregame ceremony.
It was quite the farewell for the six seniors. There were laughs and tears. These seniors are 13 months removed from losing their beloved coach Chris Smith and overcame their grief to lead the Bulldogs to a 14-5 season.
“They are definition of resilience,” said first-year head coach Kim McCullough. “They battled adversity and everything that was against them and came through every time. These kids are role models.”
Zephyrhills held the Wildcats to just five field goals the entire game accounting for just 12 points. The remaining six points came from the free throw line. Aside from King’s 23-point performance, McCullough had 12 and Hoover canned nine.
“We’re a defensive-minded team,” McCullough said. “When it’s working, it’s clicking.”
Zephyrhills will enter the Class 5A District 6 Tournament Tuesday at Fivay and face the 0-16 Pasco Pirates in the first round.
“This isn’t a sendoff. This is the beginning to prepare for the district tournament,” said assistant coach Antwon Gildon. “We want to make sure we took this opportunity to kick start who we are. It has been a season of a lot of ups, and we want to show the district who Zephyrhills is.”