Senior Night was hosted on Friday, Feb. 22 against Fort Zumwalt West for the girls basketball, boys basketball, Sensations, cheer team, and step team. Both the boys and girls basketball teams came out with victories over the Jaguars. The girls basketball team will be saying goodbye to seven seniors this year. These seniors will be leaving with three tournament championships, the longest winning streak in program history, a conference championship, and hopefully more accolades before the season is over. Let’s meet these hard working ladies as they share their favorite part of their season, their favorite ice cream flavors, and more. 

Azaria Hulbert

Number: 33

Position: Guard

Favorite thing about basketball: “[I like] the energy because it gets so intense and everybody gets into it.” 

Funniest/most embarrassing basketball moment: “When Kenzie broke somebody’s ankles.” 

Favorite Senior Night moment: “[I liked] watching all my seniors get their names called and having that moment. They were so happy.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Cookie dough because it’s bomb.” 

Gabbi Thomason

Number: 21

Position: Shooting guard

All time favorite basketball moment: “Winning three championships this year [from our tournaments].”

Funniest basketball moment: “ During the Rockbridge game a girl was dribbling up the court and I tripped on her foot and I slid all the way across the court. 

Favorite thing about basketball: “I enjoy the team aspect of it and I’ve just been playing it forever, so I fell in love with it as a young kid.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “My favorite ice cream is boring. It’s just chocolate.” 

Mackenzie Jones

Number: 34

Position: Post

Funniest/most embarrassing basketball moment: “Coach Leake said only shooters play this position, and then she put Nikki in the position and Nikki’s shot was so bad it missed the backboard and hit the side of the board.” 

All time favorite basketball moment: “I don’t really have a specific one. I just like laughing with the girls all the time.” 

Favorite Senior Night moment: “I loved seeing how supporting and loving everyone was throughout the whole night, from my teammates to coaches to friends.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Chocolate brownie because I love brownies and chocolate ice cream.” 

Jocelyn Morreli

Number: 12

Position: Shooting Guard (injured)

Favorite thing about the program: “Coach Leake works very hard to make us feel elite. We’re very rewarded for all the work that we put into it and I think that gives us a little bit more of a drive to do well and work hard. So, I think the input matches the output.” 

All time favorite basketball moment: “This past season our very first championship against Lutheran St. Charles. It was an overtime game and we won by one point and it was super exciting.” 

Favorite Senior Night moment: “I think, for me being injured, being able to dress out and coach having all of us seniors, playing/non playing, we got to go through the tunnel with the lights just like everybody else for our senior night, whether we were playing or not and I just thought that was really cool.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Coffee ice cream because it makes me think of my grandma.” 

Cloie Boyd

Number: 44 

Position: Center

Funniest/most embarrassing basketball moment: “When Trinniti falls for no reason in games.” 

Favorite Senior night moment: “Getting to be on the court with Ari and Joceyln (and them getting their final moments on the court) and the other seniors.”

Thing you will miss most: “[I’ll miss] my teammates because they are the whole reason I do this sport.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Oreo is my favorite because the chocolate mixed with the vanilla is sooo good.”  

Aria Lynch

Number: 35

Position: Power Forward (injured)

Favorite thing about the program: “[My] favorite thing is how interconnected our basketball program is from the junior spartans to between the guys and girls teams and how we are all like one family.” 

All time favorite basketball moment: “Playing my first game against Howell at home.” 

Favorite senior night moment: “Getting to touch the court again and singing the national anthem for the last time.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Cookie Dough because I have an unhealthy cookie addiction.” 

Makayla Best 

Number: 24

Position: Shooting Guard

Favorite thing about basketball: “[Basketball has] just been something that I’ve been able to do and I enjoy doing, and no matter what’s going on in my life, or school wise, I just go out there and have fun and forget about everything.” 

Favorite senior night moment: “Well, the whole night was really special. I thought it was really nice that they gave my mom a flower. I just thought that was really really nice of them and having both of my parents there was probably my favorite part.” 

Thing you will miss most: “This for sure has been my best year out of four years, and it’s been a really special year. So, I think I’m gonna miss this just being the one time in my life that, like, I can do this here. I can’t go back to this any other time, so it’s a really special moment.” 

Favorite ice cream flavor: “Cookie dough. It’s sort of basic but it tastes great.

The Spartans will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 28 at Troy in their last conference game. District games will be held next week at Fort Zumwalt South. For updates and game times follow the girls basketball team on Twitter.