This past week, the winter sports teams opened up their seasons. The boys and girls basketball teams kicked off their season by hosting Omaha Gross Catholic High School in the first round of the Western Conference basketball tournament. The girls faced a rough start to the tournament falling to the Lady Cougars 38-72. Leading scorers were Kennedy Cyza 14, Emily Jensen 9, Alyssa Palmer 5, Abbie Luger 5, Makayla Davidson 3 and Maggie Otto with 2.

The boys team gave the crowd quite a game against the Cougars last Thursday, with the score being 17-23 at the half. Mills caught fire quickly in the third quarter giving the Bulldogs a 32-30 lead, leading the team with 17 points. With 2:08 left to play, the Bulldogs led 44-41 forcing a timeout on the floor. With 4.7 seconds to play, junior Cole Randall hits a three from the left corner, capturing the win for the Bulldogs, ending the game 47-44 and sending them to Cougar Palace to play Scottsbluff. Leading scorers were Mills 22, Randall 10, Luger and Matulka add 4 each.

On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs matched up against the Lady Bearcats in the second round of the Western Conference tournament at Scottsbluff High School. The Bearcats made a run right from the start leading 9-21 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs struggled but didn’t let up finishing the game 32-68. Scoring: Cyza and Tritle with 8, Farritor with 4, Jensen, Reiber, Palmer, Otto, and Luger with 2, and Davidson with 1.

The boys also matched up against the Bearcats in the second round. Scottsbluff took a 12-4 lead early in the first quarter, ending the quarter at 13-25. Only down by 11 at the half, the Bulldogs desperately needed their shots to start falling, but Scottsbluff quickly took a 28-44 lead in the third quarter. Although the score may not have represented the effort shown Friday night, the boys showcased the potential within the team. The final score was Alliance 48, Scottsbluff 68 with Jordan Mills leading the team again with 18 and Austin Luger with 15.

On Saturday, the girls matched up against Greeley West High School. Junior Alyssa Palmer started the girls off leading the team with 8 points at the end of the first quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 13 to 12 lead and ending the half 33-27. The Lady Bulldogs captured their first win of the season defeating the Warriors 50-42. Cyza lead the team with 14 points, while Madison Reiber added another 10.

The boys on the other hand, had an upsetting loss in the third place match against the Chadron Cardinals. After one quarter of play, the Bulldogs only lead 13-12. After a tough second quarter and only being 1 for 7 at the free throw line, the Bulldogs were down 23-30. Chadron jumped to a 29-48 lead halfway through the third quarter and by the end had jumped to a 53-31 victory.

The girls ended the tournament in seventh place with the record of 1-2. The boys ended the tournament in fourth place with the record of 1-2.

On Friday and Saturday the Alliance Wrestling team competed in their first dual of the season in Cozad. Final results: Jorgen Johnson 1^st at 106 , DJ Weare 2^nd at 138, Walker Johnson 2^nd at 145, Manny Cabello 2^nd at 152, Matthew Pachak 4^th at 182, and Brent Thomas 5^th at 195.