The Varsity Tritons girls’ basketball team went 3-0 last weekend in the NXT LVL HoopsFest in Nashville, Tennessee.
Over three days, the Tritons defeated Rockvale 98-17 and Auburn 86-37, before taking down Christ Presbyterian Academy 72-32 to claim the championship.
The team was accompanied by W7 Production’s Conor DuBoyce who made the trip and streamed each of the Tritons’ three games.
“I had a great time traveling to Nashville with them and being able to broadcast the games, so those back home could watch. It truly was a privilege and honor to be able to do so,” shared DuBoyce.
W7 is also putting together a mini-documentary on the Tritons’ season, so he went to get some content for that too.
“This trip is such a major part of the season. It was important for me on behalf of W7 to make the trip and bring not just the basketball games back home for those that couldn’t make it but also capture those moments and memories for these kids and families that will hopefully last long after this trip,” he said.
The planning for this trip has been ongoing for 5+ years, according to Head Coach Sara Rohde. “We chose a city that was within a reasonable driving distance and one that would offer some new experiences for our players,” she said.
Rohde continued, “While some of the games may not have been as competitive as we hoped for, the idea of playing some new competition and personnel was exciting. We faced some different defenses and presses that we typically don’t see, and there were a few players that presented different challenges. Our reserve players also got a lot of minutes, and I thought there was a noticeable growth in their game production.”
“The overall experience of the trip was awesome. Our team spent a lot of quality time together and got tested against different teams while having fun and exploring Nashville,” explained senior Gracie Grzesk.
“Playing different teams from around the Tennessee area was good for us, getting to see different situations, a lot more zone and just putting us in positions we haven’t been in before,” added Grzesk.
Off the court, the Tritons participated in some other activities around the city. They attended a Nashville Predators hockey game, learned some line dances, went shopping, and, of course, tried on some cowboy hats.
“I think this helped the girls and coaches learn a lot about each other and bond as a team,” said Rohde.
The team’s traveling doesn’t stop there, though, as they will travel down to the Chicago area for a game vs Alton on January 6 at 2 pm. Then the Tritons will return home on Tuesday to face Southwest at 6:30 p.m.
