The Golden Plains girls’ basketball team had major voids to fill following last year’s runner-up finish in Class 1A Division II. 

The Bulldogs were tasked with replacing their floor general in Kassie Miller and a big senior class that never experienced a regular-season loss in their four years in the program. 

“One thing with this team is they play with a little chip on their shoulder,” Golden Plains coach Parker Christensen said, “because all we heard all summer, all fall was ‘What are you going to do, what are you going to do? You lost a big senior class. You lost a great player in Miller.’ 

“We’re pretty competitive, and they take that to heart.”

The Bulldogs have reloaded and established themselves as a contender once again, moving to 12-3 after capturing their sixth straight Western Kansas Liberty League Tournament championship with a 54-26 win over Northern Valley in the tournament final on Saturday at the Colby Event Center. 

While offense has been a work in progress at times, Golden Plains has been absolutely dominant defensively, holding opponents to a staggering 23 points per game. 

“That’s where we hang our hat every day in practice and every game we’re going to play,” Christensen said.

The Bulldogs led 32-4 at halftime against Northern Valley after outscoring the Huskies 21-0 in the second quarter. 

Seniors Breanna Rath and Sidney Taylor scored 17 and 15, respectively, while junior Jordyn Fleckenstein added 13 points.

“I think it’s been a combination of everybody pulling up the load a little bit more,” Christensen said. “We’re averaging, my top four (scorers), from about nine to 12 points. That makes us pretty hard to guard. You can’t just pick out one person, which sometimes teams tried to do last year.”
 

A lock-down defender, Rath has been counted on for more offense in the absence of Miller, who averaged nearly 17 points per game last year. 

“(Rath) just didn’t have to do the things (last year) that she’s doing this year, managing the team and running the team,” Christensen said. “She’s always still going to be one of the best defenders out here in this part of the state, but her passing and her ability to shoot the ball and drive a little bit, she’s really improved at. 

“We challenged her (heading into the season). Her and Sidney, they needed to up their game if we were going to have a chance to get back to Great Bend (for the state tournament), which is their goal.”

After going 94-4 over the last four seasons, the Bulldogs suffered their first regular-season loss since 2018 with a 50-43 loss to Leoti-Wichita County on Dec. 9 at the Brewster tournament.

“I don’t think that they ever really put much pressure on themselves. Everybody else wanted to be the ones to put that loss on them,” Christensen said. “So when Leoti beat us in the tournament, I just told them ‘Just take a big deep breath. That big bullseye is gone now, and you don’t have to worry about that. You’ve still got to play and you’ve still got to get better because all these teams still want to beat you.’ ”
 

Golden Plains fell again to Wichita County in a 40-20 loss on Jan. 3 and also took a 47-44 loss to Quinter on Jan. 24. 

“There’s been some times early in the season where we struggled,” Christensen said. “Leoti was an example, but they’re a real good team, too. We’ve learned through it. We’re short on numbers, too, so sometimes in practices I’ve got to be a little creative to make things game-like in practice. But they’re really coming on, and the defense is coming on.”

Players that have stepped into bigger roles also include sophomore Anette Hernandez and junior Emma Weiner, a state-champion distance runner who missed last basketball season while recovering from a broken fibula. 

“Another tremendous defender,” Christensen said of Weiner. “She doesn’t look to score near as much as I’d like her to, but, man, she’s a bulldog on the defensive end.”

The Bulldogs have dominated in league games, winning every game against WKLL teams by at least 18 points. 

“Those games we’ve really stressed to stay in what we want to do and be efficient and be disciplined,” Christensen said. “One thing that’s going to be key down the stretch for us is we need to stay healthy.”