Starting on December 5, 2024 through December 7, 2024, the Los Banos High School Girls Basketball played in their 8th annual home tournament. Coming into the tournament they were out to win the whole thing as they were undefeated, but sadly came up short in the final minutes of the championship game. 

At the start of the tournament, the Lady Tigers had a bye their first round as a team had dropped out. This gave the team a huge advantage and helped to save their energy for the coming games. They would have to prepare for the next game against Chowchilla, which they felt good about going into the game.

Winning the tournament meant a whole lot for the girls as the tournament was named after Valeria Lugo, who passed away in 2016. She was a huge Tiger supporter and cousin of Head Coach Lorinda Sanchez. This made the tournament a big deal to win as it had lots of emotional connection to many.

Coach Sanchez said, “It’s personal. It’s a more special tournament. It’s a home tournament where we get to play with our family and friends to watch us and support us.”

Going into the semifinals against Chowchilla, the girls took over from the start and set the tempo for the game. Though at times there was a bit of a challenge, the ladies came up on top with a final score of 49-35 and a spot secured in the championship game. 

There was quite a bit of pressure going into the championship game as the last time the Tigers won their home tournament was in 2018. Their final opponent was Patterson, which last couple of years was their biggest competition as they were a very well put together team.

Every single quarter of the game was a battle and it was close throughout the whole game. Unfortunately, Patterson started to pull away during the final minutes of the game and overall beat the Lady Tigers. The final score was a close 39-44, but the ladies gave it their all. They claimed second place and Junior Kanin Welch won All-tourney for the team. Hopefully next year the outcome will be different.