During the nearly two hour, 102-mile bus ride home, Bloomingdale girls basketball players were enveloped in silent misery – each wondering why they had come up short in last year’s Class 6A region final. 

The loss to Charlotte ended the Bulls chances of reaching the state semifinals for the second straight season. 

“That was really tough,” Bloomingdale coach Joel Bower said of last year’s region final. “Having been to Lakeland the previous year, our seniors last year wanted badly to get back. It was a long drive home.”

For the returning players, the goal was unanimous – to get back to the region final and win. Maintaining it might be just as talented this year and equally driven to win, Bloomingdale started working toward another deep playoff run days after last season ended.

The Bulls have already accomplished the first part of that mission by reaching the region final for the third straight season. 

What they could not have envisioned was winning every game along the way. 

Their last loss came a year ago during that tearful bus trip home from Punta Gorda. 

“This year, like everyone else, we have the ultimate goal of winning a state championship,” Bower said. “I think our expectation was to be in this game with a chance to get back to Lakeland.  But our mindset all year has been short term goals like winning the week and not looking too far down the road.”

Bower knows any little thing can cause a team to lose on any given night. Foul trouble. Poor shooting. Injuries. Playing a superior opponent. Any of it can lead to a loss. 

But it has not happened yet to Bloomingdale. 

The Bulls are perfect in their first 28 games.

Plenty of players have contributed to this unblemished record. Noelle Mengel is a big-time scorer. Izellah Kendrick makes her presence known in the paint. Aviance Torres provides crisp passes. Tabitha Vega comes through in the clutch. 

Together, they have won again and again, all while not letting the pressure of being undefeated – and the target for so many foes – become unbearable. 

Now, they get their chance at redemption by facing Charlotte once again in the region final. This time, there is no long trip. 

Bloomingdale gets to play at home.

“I don’t know what is going on in the other locker room, but I’m sure people are tired of us winning, and I guess that means we are doing something right,” Bower said. “We are just trying to stay in our bubble. Getting the No. 1 seed in our region was more important than our record so I really think our kids haven’t been affected by it. 

“I’m sure they will look back at some point and realize that they did something pretty cool.”