The De Soto High School boy’s and girl’s varsity basketball teams are currently competing at the 57th annual Tonganoxie Basketball Tournament at Tonganoxie High School.

The Wildcat teams have been competing since Jan. 18.

The boy’s team started off the tournament with a game on Jan. 19 against the Wamego Red Raiders, the no. 1 ranked team in 4A, according to the KPI Ranking Index.
The Wildcats fought throughout the game but lost to the Red Raiders 63-44.

The leading scorers for the Wildcats included seniors Jacob Jennings and Isaac Albert with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Noah Wilson with 10 points.

Wilson said that the Wildcats had a tough time against the Red Raiders.

“[Wamego] was talented and tough to beat, and they outscored us in the end,” Wilson said. “They executed better than us.”

The boy’s team will compete in the second round of the tournament against the Jeff West Tigers on Friday, Jan. 23.

“Everyone should come out to Tonganoxie to support us,” Wilson said. “It would be fantastic.”

Although the boy’s team has made its tournament debut, the Wildcat girl’s basketball team will not play in the tournament until Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Junior Sydney Jones thinks the competition will be difficult, but the team will be ready to play.

“We’re about the same height as Wamego, and we’re a bit taller than Bonner, so I think that we can handle the challenge,” Jones said. “They will be great games either way.”

According to sophomore Mariah Grizzle, the Wildcats have a great chance of winning, as long as they keep up their energy.

“As long as we play as well as we have been, we can continue our win streak,” Grizzle said.

“All we need to do is cut down on turnovers, make good passes and play with a basketball mind,” Jones said.

The lady Wildcats play Wamego on Tuesday night at 4:30 p.m. and Bonner Springs on Thursday at 6 p.m. Both games will be played at Tonganoxie.

Both teams are prepared for their upcoming games and will try to end the tournament with another Wildcat victory.