The Southwest girls basketball team enjoyed a rebounding season this year, winning nearly eight times as many games as last year.

The Lady Trojans turned in a 15-11 record, improving from 2-24 the previous season.

“Definitely an improvement over last year,” said Shawn Johnson, Southwest girls basketball coach. “I think our confidence was our biggest improvement this year, just believing in themselves and that they could win ball games.”

The Lady Trojans laid the rubber in January, winning 8 of 10 out of the Christmas break, including playing for a Galena Lady Bear Winter Classic championship.

“We had a goal of 10 wins, and we went above that,” Johnson said. “We also had a goal of winning a trophy in one of the three tournaments, and ended up winning three, two second place and a consolation.”

Within those many wins were a few more exciting storylines, like a huge comeback victory over cross-county rival, Exeter.

“We came from 22 points down in the third quarter to defeat Exeter, [66-65 on Dec. 20, 2024], and also came from 8 down with 3 minutes remaining in the game to beat East Newton, [51-49 on Jan. 31],” Johnson said.

The Lady Trojans’ season came to a close on Feb. 25 with a 56-27 loss to Sarcoxie in the Class 3, District 12 quarterfinals.

Johnson said to increase wins and extend their season, turnovers will need attention.

“We could have played with some of the better teams in the area if we had cut our turnovers down,” he said. “That’s something we will definitely work on this offseason.”

The 2025-2026 campaign will most likely look different regarding wins and losses, but it may look identical on the floor. Southwest has no seniors graduating, and Johnson is excited for the experience coming down the road.

“Our junior has started the last three years, and our three sophomores have started the last two,” Johnson said. “The great thing about them is that they want to get better and are willing to put in the work to get better.”

To reach higher goals, Johnson said that hard work will be one of the keys.

“We have to work hard each and every day, get better every day, cut down on turnovers, increase our win total, have fun and enjoy the time being on the team,” he said. “I am super proud of the effort the girls had all year. They were willing to work each day and wanted to get better. They were a great group of girls to coach.”