On December 18, the Townsend Harris High School Girls Varsity Basketball team traveled to Orlando, Florida to participate in the 2022 Kaylee Scholastic Association (KSA)tournament. Planning for the trip began during the 2021-2022 school year and involved a variety of fundraisers for the team to successfully travel there.

Prior to the tournament, senior captain, Aissatou Lam, said it was going to be “a huge opportunity to play other teams from across the United States.”  Sophomore Eva Hannon (Classics Writer) said, “I’m super excited about this trip. I think it will be so much fun, a great memory, and also an amazing team-bonding experience. 

The competition will be fun and probably something different from what I’ve seen before.” 

During the tournament, the girls faced off against Ossining High School from upstate New York, Alcoa from Tennessee, and Holy Trinity from Florida, finishing with a record of 0-3. 

However, despite the losses, senior captain Aissatou Lam said, “After the trip, I was content with knowing we tried our best and left the tournament a better team than we came into it. The most memorable moment occurred in the fourth quarter of our second game when we felt like everyone on the court was giving it their all and doing everything we could to get the ball in the basket.” 

Reflecting on the tournament, junior Ioanna Giannopoulou said, “The trip was amazing; it helped me connect with my team in so many great ways. Furthermore, my team and I were able to get so much better playing against such great and hard competition.”

During the Orlando Tournament, Eva Hannon was recognized as a member of the All-Tournament Team. She said “I was super excited when I got the award. The games were really tough but I think we all performed really well and did our best!”

Senior captain Natalia Ramlogan said, “I had such an amazing time on the trip, and I’m so grateful that I was able to have the opportunity to go. I got to learn so much about my teammates.”

Eva Hannon said, “Waking up every day, eating breakfast, and enjoying Disney together certainly brought us closer, and I loved the way we bonded. The happiest moment was all the times I got to bond with my teammates, which was pretty much the entire trip.”

The Classic spoke to Coach Lauren Caiaccia about her experience as a coach on this trip. She said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to represent our team, our program, our city, and our state at the Girls Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament in Kissimmee, FL. In sport, as in life, we learn and grow through experiences that are both challenging as well as fun. And this tournament certainly gave us both. Topping it off, we showed true heart, community and spirit throughout the entire trip.”