The Lady Spartans are one step closer to obtaining a district championship. The Spartans ended their season on March 4 against Grain Valley in the Semi-Finals of the Class 6 District 7 Tournament. 

The Spartans went 19-6 in their regular season, securing four out of six conference wins including history making games like Rock Bridge, 57-56 and Hickman, 57-50 gaining them the title of the Queens of Columbia. The Spartans started off their season with nine straight wins in a row, against teams like Rock Bridge and Blue Springs South. This year’s Battle squad has set a precedent for future teams to come through the program. For the first time in history, the Lady Spartans had 20 wins this season, along with defeating cross-town rivals. Through the Spartans season, the chemistry only grew more as they continued to play. 

“This season our chemistry was super strong. We always knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses on the court, and we always were there to pick each other up,” Senior Maliyah Miller said. 

Miller is a part of the Spartans’ starting 5, along with senior Kaelyn Johnson. These two will leave the program as names to remember, as they both obtained records this season. Miller currently holds the school record for the Most 3pt’s Made in a Single Season at 60 and has four current offers from colleges like Stephens and Webster. This season not only did Johnson break the 1,000 points mark, she broke the record of Most 3pt’s Made in a Career, and became the Spartan’s leading scorer in program history with 1,117 points. Johnson has signed to play at Columbia College on a Full-Ride scholarship. While Miller and Johnson were big roles in this year’s season, sophomores Tayla Robinson and Jaleah Brookins are the future of this program. 

Robinson is the Spartans’ point-guard and a consistent scoring leader throughout the season. While this season was history making and the Spartans had the best record in all of program history with an average of 58.8 PPG and a winning percentage of 74.1%, the future Spartans aren’t done. 

“Personally, we should never just be satisfied. We could’ve gone so much further than what we did this season, but I am so thankful and proud of all we accomplished,” Robinson said. 

Brookins was another big figure for the Spartans, with game winning free throws against Rockbridge and a shutdown performance against Hickman. 

“We have a lot of people that will rise up next season and prove that this wasn’t just luck or a fluke, that Battle is not just another team, we are the team,” Coach Dustin Yung said. 

With his second season as head coach, Yung has grown the program to become the best the school has seen. Dustin Yung came to Battle from Moberly Area Community College as an assistant coach, where both years he was there they qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament. Before, he spent three seasons at Bradley University as the Director of Women’s Basketball Operations and spent some time as a graduate assistant coach at Central Methodist University. Within his two years at Battle, Yung has turned the program around. The Spartans went from their opponents scoring an average of 54.3 PPG in 2021 to 39.1 PPG in 2023. This season, Coach Yung promised the girls to help them work towards their goal of a District Championship title. 

Although the Spartans did end their season on a different note than they wanted to, they never stopped fighting and held their heads high the whole way. The Spartans are on the up and will continue to set precedents for future teams, proving that Battle is not a team to overlook.