Time is running out in the high school basketball careers for eight Wellsville-Middletown seniors.

Julia Dias, Hallie Guzy, Keigan Hall and Alivia Stewart of the girls team, and Brennan Cash, Cooper Henderson, Gage Marshall and Jonah Slovensky of the boys squad make up the senior class for the Tigers.

Guzy, Hall, Henderson and Marshall have played all four years, Slovensky and Cash started playing basketball last year and Stewart and Dias are wrapping up their first basketball seasons.

All of them are competing in their final week of regular season play. They were honored in a senior night game against Silex on Feb. 18. The seniors will play their final home game on Feb. 20, when W-M takes on Wright City in its regular season finale.

Two basketball cheerleaders – Alyssa Beach and Della Gosseen – and a girls basketball manager -- Lea Denet -- were also recognized in the senior night game against Silex.

The Tigers lost both boys and girls contests against Silex. The boys lost 46-35 after leading by eight points in second quarter and the girls fell 49-38.

Hall is enjoying an outstanding career that included two all-tournament awards from the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament. She earned those honors in her sophomore and junior seasons.

“It’s pretty fun,” Hall said. “I like representing the school.”

This winter, she turned in several strong performances, including a 20-point effort against Montgomery County on Dec. 20 and a 22-point effort against Silex.

“I think I’m doing a little better,” Hall said. “I’m shooting more.”

Guzy also has been a strong offensive threat for the W-M girls. Two months ago, Guzy helped the Tigers pick up their first win of the season by scoring 11 points in W-M’s 32-29 victory over Bowling Green in the seventh-place game of the Montgomery County Tournament. The Tigers lost their first three games before pulling off the win.

Both Hall and Guzy have been valuable to the Tigers since they joined the program as freshmen.

In the 2021-22 season, they helped W-M win 11 games, almost tripling its win total of four from the previous year, and make its first district final appearance since 2001. Guzy and Hall combined to score 78 points in the district tournament.

The next year, they lifted the Tigers to a 16-11 record and another trip to the district championship game. When they were juniors, they helped W-M finish 13-13.

This winter, they’re leading a team that lost three players to graduation – including four-time all-Eastern Missouri selection Bethany Slovensky – and has two new players and a new coach in Steve Lasman, who headed the boys team the last seven years.

“We’ve gotten better,” Hall said. “We’re working together a lot more. We’re starting to trust each other a lot more.”

Stewart, who finished with a team-high eight rebounds against Louisiana, said she is enjoying playing basketball at the high school level for the first time. She last played the sport in fifth grade.

“I wished I would have done it sooner, but I had fun this year,” Stewart said.

Dias and Denet are foreign exchange students. Dias is from Brazil and Denet is from Belgium.

Henderson and Marshall started their high school basketball careers on a strong note when they were freshmen. They helped the Tigers win 20 games and place fourth in the Class 1 Show-Me Showdown.

Last year, Henderson was the only W-M player named to the all-EMO team, earning second-team honors.

This winter, Henderson and Marshall are the Tigers’ top two scorers on the team. Henderson scored 20 or more points in several games this season, including a 27-point effort against New Franklin in a first-round game of the New Franklin Tournament on Jan. 7 and a 22-point performance against Louisiana. Marshall had his best performance of the season on Dec. 13, when scored 17 points in the Tigers’ 55-46 win over Liberty Christian in their home opener. He scored 10 of those points in the overtime periods.

Last year, Slovensky and Cash were two of four new players on the team.

First-year W-M coach Josh Albregts said he’s pleased with the efforts from Henderson, Marshall and Slovensky this season. They combined for 44 points in the 64-48 loss to Louisiana.

“All three of those guys are coming out here every night, playing their hearts out and doing what needs to be done,” Albregts said.