The Bison basketball teams hosted a tournament last week, and students across the campus spent Thursday and Friday begging to spend class time in the gym cheering for the home teams. Getting out of class was only part of the appeal – having a chance to watch the teams do their thing was the best part.

     “My favorite part of today has been watching the girls play and win,” junior Alexa Sanchez said, “and watching my classmates succeed and have fun playing the game they love the most.”

     Teachers were happy to be a part of the action as well. 

     “I love that the high school can come and support their classmates,” Spanish teacher Maria Salazar said. “This was a great way to have everybody be a part.”

     Both the Bison and the Lady Bison competed in the three-day tournament, with the Lady Bison defeating Cayuga during the championship game on Saturday to win in overtime 38-34. The fans were excited to get to see the action. 

     “I enjoy watching basketball a whole lot,” junior Evangeline Arabie said. “My family doesn’t really do a lot of basketball and this is the first year my sister Genevieve, she’s on varsity, she’s playing basketball for the first time. And so me and my family are getting to watch a lot of basketball and learn about it a lot.”

     The boys struggled a bit more but stayed competitive throughout. 

     “I love to see how competitive the boys are,” sophomore Maddie Hobbs said, “and how determined they are to play and win a game.”

     There was plenty of determination from everyone, and it paid off for Kaylee Rodriguez, who was named tournament MVP, and Victoria Brooks, who won the three-point championship. In addition, Jesse-Lynn Brandes was named to the All-Tournament team. This weekend, the boys are competing in a tournament at Centerville, while the Lady Bison are competing in a Leon tournament.