The Yorktown Kitty Kat Varsity basketball team competed December 27-28 in the Lady Hornet Holiday Classic in Louise, picking up a couple of victories. On day one, Yorktown faced two Class 4A schools. In game one, the Kitty Kats faced off against the Needville Lady Jays. Showing only a little rust from the holiday break, Yorktown jumped out to a 31-6 halftime lead, on its way to a 53-19 win.
Freshman Palyn Koopmann led the Kitty Kats with 10 points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists and senior Nina Villarreal also had 10 points to go along with five rebounds. Senior Laynie Boyd had nine points and five steals, while sophomore Gracie Stehling had eight points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Senior Sydnie Krueger pulled down 10 rebounds and had six points.
In game two, the Kitty Kats played the El Campo Lady Birds, a team with size and speed. Yorktown led for most of the first half, before El Campo took a 29-24 lead on back to back 3-pointers. The Lady Birds never trailed again. In the fourth period, El Campo extended its lead to 45-30 before the Kitty Kats went on a 17-10 run to end the game to make the score El Campo 55, Yorktown 47. Villarreal had 16 points, while Boyd had 12 points to go along with six rebounds. Koopmann had nine points and nine assists and Krueger pulled down nine rebounds and had six steals.
On day two, Yorktown opened up against the Tidehaven Lady Tigers, ranked #11 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 3A poll. The Lady Tigers showed the Kitty Kats exactly why they have such a high ranking as they dominated the game and won 47-9. Boyd had four points and Krueger pulled down seven rebounds.
In their final game of the tournament, the Kitty Kats faced the host-team Louise Lady Bulldogs. Although they played sluggish at times, Yorktown cruised to a 55-35 victory, notching their 14th win of the season, after only winning nine games all of last year. Koopmann led all scorers with 15 points to go along with six rebounds and four steals. Villarreal had 10 points, while Boyd and sophomore Kendall Sievers added eight apiece.
Yorktown finished the tournament in third place. Boyd and Koopmann were named to the All-Tournament team. The Kitty Kats (14-7, 3-0) will return to District 31-2A action on December 30, 2024, when they travel to Refugio to face the Lady Cats. Then, on January 3rd, 2025, Yorktown will host the Port Aransas Lady Marlins.
