On Tuesday, February 3^rd, the Unalaska Raider Basketball teams flew to Anchorage and drove four hours down to Ninilchik to compete in the Ninilchik Invitational. There were six boys and girls teams who competed at the tournament. For the boys, the competitors were the Tok Wolverines, Kalskag Grizzlies, King Cove T-Jacks, Soldotna Stars JV, Ninilchik Wolverines, and the Unalaska Raiders. For the girls, the competitors were the Tok Wolverines, Kalskag Grizzlies, Sand Point Eagles, Soldotna Stars JV, Ninilchik Wolverines, and the Unalaska Lady Raiders. The Raiders played their first match of the tournament on Thursday. The boys played a hard match against Soldotna JV and won. The Lady Raiders played against the Sand Point Eagles and won their game too. Both teams advanced to the semi-finals on Friday.

On Friday, the boys played a tough game against the Ninilchik Wolverines and were not able to finish the game with a win. This put them in the loser’s bracket and they had to play against the Soldotna JV for third place or the championships. Unfortunately, the Raider boys were unable to make it to the championship game, but placed 3^rd overall.

On the other hand, the girls won their match against the Tok Wolverines on Friday and advanced their way onto the championship. For the championship game, the Lady Raiders played with determination and won their match against the Tok Wolverines, who found their way back up from the loser’s bracket. Kanesia Price help the Raiders come out on top with a season high of 25 points. Louisa Seman and Marina Olson also had great games, scoring around fifteen points each. And so the Lady Raiders took home the first place trophy!

Kanesia Price, Louisa Seman, Vincent Naanos and Ben Enlow were chosen for the all-tournament team and Marina Olson received the MVP award for the ladies. Ben Enlow won the Handler award, which is an award given to players who show good sportsmanship on and off the court.  

Both the Lady Raiders and the Raider boys played competitively throughout the whole weekend and the coaches were proud of the effort from their teams. Every game was a battle and both teams were able to fight their way through it, whether they won or not. Great job to the Raiders! This upcoming week the Raiders will face Dillingham with the boys traveling to Dillingham and the girls hosting them on their home floor. This weekend is also senior night for the girls, so come out and support your Raiders.