This past weekend Palisades Girls and Boys basketball program spent an excitement-filled night spending night in the high school’s gym. This has been a palisade tradition with the basketball programs for several years and has been a great success in the idea of team building and bonding. Laurna Lancaster, a senior at Palisade High School, has been playing basketball since second grade and has been a part of the basketball team for all four years. Lancaster says, “My favorite thing about basketball is how it is a team sport and everyone has to work together. I also like how it is a physical sport and I enjoy the contact involved in it.” The girl’s basketball team has experienced many changes in the last few years with various coaches which can be a very difficult thing to adjust to with any athlete. Lancaster explains, “ I think that for me personally freshmen and sophomore went really great but I think last year was a little difficult for everyone as far as switching coaches and learning the new systems but I am hopeful this year will be my best year out of all of them.” The team building that Midnight Madness offers is just one more step in the right direction to make this year the best it can be, Lancaster states, “I think that Midnight Madness went really awesome, I liked the games we played a lot better than the ones last year. I definitely think it was a great bonding experience, especially with the boys because we travel with them a lot so it kind of takes away some of that awkwardness as far as being on the bus. We all get to know each other and it helps bring more of that family sense to the program.” At midnight madness, both the boys and the girls participate in a number of games such as mini scrimmages and free-throw games. The   girls basketball team heads to Carbondale today to open up their season. The boys team will head to Central High school to play Mofit county. The Bulldogs are set up for a great season ahead of them as a result of the great efforts of building an unshakable team bond. Go Bulldogs!