The Lincoln East girls basketball team came into the season with high expectations and a lot of adjusting to do. After losing seniors Regan Sankey and Alli Roh, the girls needed to make up for the loss of height and leadership. Yet their team reloaded with plenty of underclassmen returners, and some new faces as well. For sophomore guard Olivia Kuegler, the mindset of the season was set from the beginning. “We knew we needed to show that no matter what comes our way, no matter how short we are, no matter what everyone says around us that we gotta come out give intensity and give all we have every game,” said Kuegler. And the girls did just that, beating state contenders Lincoln Southwest and Millard South in the regular season. The Spartans then advanced to state as a wild card following a 53-49 loss to Omaha Benson in the district final. East faced two seed Millard South (21-4) in the first round of state competition, winning 57-56 in the last minute thriller. Following the upset, the Spartans went up against Lincoln Southwest for the third time this season. The series was tied 1-1 headed into the semifinals, with East holding the latest win on February 8. Yet the Hawks were too much to handle and beat the Spartans 53-43 to advance to the championship. East ended the season 19-7, but is proud of their season and has their eyes set on a return to state next season. “We came together well,” said junior guard Charlie Bovaird. “And we finished off strong.” Bovaird also broke the record the Lincoln East record of most threes in a season and most threes in a career. With no seniors on the team, the Spartans will return with experience and state hopes for next season.