Basketball girls are Baddie, Fantabulous, 2023 Hoopfest Champions

SPOKANE – The Bucket Baddies girls’ team from Brewster was indeed ‘bad’ news for the other teams in their competition bracket at the world’s largest outdoor 3-on-3basketball tournament in Spokane last month. The four incoming seventh graders – Neyomee Aparicio, Celeste Garcia, Addy Boesel, and Katia Sanchez – swept their bracket, went undefeated, and captured the coveted title of Hoopfest 2023 Champions.

And they were but one of two county girls’ teams to win it all.

The Fantabulous Four comprised of incoming freshmen Katlynn Gibbons (Tonasket), Pepper Boesel (Brewster), Mylee Taber (Tonasket), and Evelyn Sheller (Tonasket), beat all comers in their best-of-the-best elite bracket and captured the Hoopfest Champs crown as well.

The massive tournament tied up 45 city blocks in downtown Spokane on June 21-25 so 24,000 players from more than 6,000 teams representing 44 states and six countries could battle it out on 422 courts in front of a quarter million spectators. No pressure there.

The games were timed to under 30 minutes with the first team to score 20 points, or the one leading at the end of regulation play the victor. Tie games were decided in an overtime period where the first team to score two points was declared the winner. There were loser and consolation slots in each bracket but neither local team troubled themselves with those.

Hoopfest started 31 years ago and has been growing ever since. Plans are already underway for the 2024 tournament on June 29-30, To learn more log onto spokanehoopfest.net.