There aren't many squabbles, with seniors bossing around freshmen like a stereotypical high school movie, either.
Nope, this is just a team that was told all year long it wasn't good enough to compete in Class 5 or in the Central Ozark Conference because it was too young and too inexperienced.
So much for that.
"We've put in so much hard work. People are just starting to realize what we can do," Nixa High School freshman guard Bethanie Funderburk said Monday.
When Nixa (21-8) won the Class 5 District 12 girls' basketball championship last week, ending the seasons of back-to-back state champion Ozark and perennial powerhouse Kickapoo, it unleashed a rare mixture of "Told you so" and "I can't believe it."
Four months ago, five juniors and one senior who were going to vie for major playing time quit the team. They'd had enough, deciding to focus on other sports or find other things to do with their time.
That's where the youngsters came in. Of the 15 on the varsity roster, four are seniors and two are sophomores. The nine others?
Freshmen.
Four of those freshmen — Funderburk, Emily Walker, Randa Raper, Tara Temple — see major minutes. Funderburk and Walker start alongside seniors Ashlee Luko and Jenny Watts, and sophomore Abby Bracker.
It was an adjustment for the older players, to be sure. Luko saw basketball, something she holds so dear, turn out to not be that important to some of her peers.
But then she realized there was a gang of hungry, talented freshmen who had the same goals she did.
"They came in as a very talented group, but it didn't take long to realize we all had the same goal in mind: get to state," Luko said.
Coach Randy Towe, whose team plays Waynesville at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Bolivar in the sectional, said even he didn't see this coming.
"I told people, 'I didn't know how good we'd be to start out with, but we'd be competitive in the end,' " said Towe, who won a state championship with the Lady Eagles in 2000, also the last time Nixa won the district title.
Meanwhile, Luko has lived up to her all-COC billing, averaging 17.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
But it has been her nurturing, an almost Mother Eagle presence, that helped as much as the fearlessness with which the youngsters have played.
"She's a great leader," Bracker said. "I've learned so much from her. I have so much confidence in her that she's under control at all times."
In and out of the locker room, Bracker said she feels like an upperclassman.
She's averaging 9.8 points and leading the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.
The freshmen are led by Funderburk's 16.4 points per game. The three other key freshmen combine for 14.4 points.
This, from a group that, over the summer, didn't even go to camps with the varsity.
"We didn't know (everyone was going to quit) by then, so they were doing stuff with the JV," Towe said.
For a read on the freshmen's attitudes, all you need to do is watch Funderburk smack her gum, then get to the basket. Or watch Walker nail the district tournament-winning free throws, Temple get a crucial offensive rebound or Raper come off the bench to nail a cold-blooded 3-pointer.
And the best part? Now they're playing with house money.
Every victory is just more experience this young group collects and stores away, while still adding to Luko's legacy.
"We're so young, this won't be the last time we win (a district title)," Bracker said. "Hopefully, there will be more."
One No. 3 seed and two landmark victories have the Eagles two wins away from their goal, with the proud seniors and the firecracker underclassmen doing it together.
"It doesn't always work out like that," Towe said. "They've been a pleasure to be around and I think everyone can tell how well they get along."