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On Jan. 31, Paynesville played Litchfield at home. The Dogs' pressure defense forced many turnovers and led to a 27-10 halftime lead. The Bulldogs continued to dominate in the second half and won 58-23.

Scoring for Paynesville were Hess with 15 points, Brooke Schmitz with 10, Brittany Lieser with 10, Kendra Johnson with nine, and Peggy Thompson with eight. "I really liked the balanced scoring we had in this game," said coach Dave Randgaard.

On Feb. 8, Paynesville traveled to Sauk Centre and the Dogs' full-court, man-to-man pressure defense was the key to victory. The Dogs led 26-12 at halftime and cruised to a 41-28 final score. Hess scored 14 points and Johnson had 12 to lead the team.

On Feb. 11, the Bulldogs met a tough ACGC Falcons team and had quite a battle before losing, 51-42. The Falcons were more physical and handled the press well. "We played well, but lost to a very good team," said Randgaard.

ACGC made 19 of 27 free throws to put the game away.

The team took on Cathedral on Feb. 15 in St. Cloud. Paynesville had lost to Cathedral 41-38 at home in January. The girls came out with a lot of intensity and built a 27-21 halftime lead. Lieser and Bridgette Johnson led the team with six points each.

The Bulldogs outscored Cathedral 19-11 in the second half to take a 46-32 victory. "This was a big challenge for the team and the girls responded with some well-played basketball," said Randgaard.

On Feb. 21, the team traveled to Albany to take on the Huskies, who were undefeated and had defeated Paynesville 36-35 in January. The girls came out aggressively on defense and forced many turnovers, leading 7-2 at the end of the first quarter. The lead was 15-10 at halftime, but Albany tied the game at 22-22 at the end of three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter, Albany got in foul trouble and the Bulldogs made seven free throws, along with scoring seven points on field goals, to outscore them 14-3.

The Bulldogs handed Albany's junior varsity team their first loss of the year 36-25. "Our defense, especially in the first and fourth quarters, was the key to the biggest victory of the season for the jv team!" said Randgaard.

The Bulldogs finished with a 15-6 record, including a 10-2 record in the conference.

"I really enjoyed coaching this team. They played aggressive defense, always played hard, and were mentally tough as a team. The future is very bright for this bunch of girls," said Randgaard. "We need to continue to improve in the offseason on our shooting and ballhandling skills. This is the best team I have ever coached in girls' basketball."