One of the valuable lessons of competitive sports is learning how to lose. But that’s a lesson that will have to wait for Republic’s 8th grade girls basketball team. Both the A and B teams went undefeated during their junior high careers, with a combined record of 52-0 in two seasons.
Coach Tonia Herbold says the undefeated run was the product of several factors.
“They’re pretty deep on the bench, and they have a lot of talent,” she says. “They have this will to win. We were down 13 points (against Ozark in the COC Tournament), and came back and one the game. They’re just real dedicated.”
And Herbold says basketball smarts played a role in the team’s success, too. “If you ask them to do something,” she says, “you usually don’t have to tell them twice.”
The 8th grade A team went 13-0 this season, and 28-0 overall. The B team was 24-0 in two years. The team’s depth allowed Herbold to substitute liberally, shuffling some players between the two squads.
Republic’s closest competition in two seasons was with Ozark, the team that had Republic down by 13 points in the first half at the COC Tournament. But the Lady Tigers battled back in that game to lead at halftime, and went on to compile an overall 6-0 record against Ozark in two years. 
The success at the 8th grade level didn’t come without a good support system. The 7th grade team was also very good, finishing this year at 10-3. That talent helped push the 8th graders in practice all year.
“In practice we put our starting 7th grade starting five with our starting 8th grade five, then we mix kids in and out,” says Herbold. “It makes it much more competitive in practice, if we scrimmage.
“And our 8th graders make our 7th graders better. They feed off each other.”