While most of the school was off eating candy canes and looking at Christmas lights, the varsity boys and girls basketball teams were practicing, playing and preparing for the rest of their season.

“During Christmas break, we really tried to get our minds right and start working during practice,” junior Melanie McGill said. “I think we all wanted to come back and be a better team.”

During the break, the Lady Bison basketball team challenged Westwood and competed in a tournament in Cameron. The team won against Westwood and came third in the bronze bracket of the tournament.

“All of our games were basically practice for our district games,” sophomore Samantha Simpson said. “We were looking to win, but we mostly hoped to gain practice.”

Also during the break, the team played a game against Elkhart’s JV and resumed district play against Frankston. The Lady Bison lost to Elkhart’s JV and came out with a win against Frankston.

“After this break, we hope to come out stronger and better than before the break,” sophomore Mollie Dittmar said. “We are looking ahead and using these games to prepare for Teague and Malakoff.”

The Bison basketball team started district during the break with a game against Westwood. The team fell hard to the highly-ranked team. They also played Oakwood and defeated them.

“We played well against Westwood, so the loss wasn’t as hard,” junior Dirk Kilgore said. “I was still pretty upset about it, but we played hard.”

The Bison also hosted a Christmas tournament and continued district with Elkhart and Frankston. The boys’ basketball team defeated Elkhart but fell to Frankston.

“We are constantly getting better,” junior Jarrett Fishbeck said. “We just have to take it one day at a time.”