Under the leadership of a new head coach, the Branson girls basketball team wrapped up their season by winning the 2026 NCS Championships.

“I think the season couldn’t have gone any better in terms of our team skill and team dynamics,” said team captain Barbara Hernandez ‘26.

“It was awesome, I think we overachieved and the girls improved a lot. The way we started the year and the way we ended the year, it was two different teams.” Head Coach Kayden Korst said.

Hernandez pointed to the underclassmen as a standout reason for their success.

“I think because we had a lot of incoming freshmen and sophomores, we did better than people were anticipating inside and outside [of Branson]” said Hernandez.. 

A favorite moment of the year was when the belief started setting in for the team right after their first NCS win.

“I could see all the girls really wanting to win … and then everything clicked,” Hernandez said.

The team’s coaching staff was pivotal in instilling this newfound can-do attitude. 

“[Coach Korst] just made basketball so simple and explained it in a way that we could understand… [She wanted us] to be 1 percent better each day at practice and she gave a lot of girls more confidence,” Hernandez said.

Another big factor for their success was guard Kate Spaulding ‘28, who was awarded first team MCAL All League.

“She’s the best around. The kids are really lucky because she’s a great teammate … she doesn’t just score points for us, she does everything,” Korst said.

Starting off the season as underdogs, the Bulls’ hard work led them to strong finishes in both the MCAL and NCS leagues. 

“It wasn’t easy, but nobody thought we would be NCS champions or playing in the MCAL semifinal game, and we were.” Korst said.