Bainville Basketball Players Score Victories In Hawaii

Eastern Montana girls’ basketball players represented the state well during a recent trip to compete in the Hawaii Hoopfest.

The squad, which featured Bainville’s Elsie Wilson and Addison Hansen, came away with top honors at the tournament.

Other members of the squad included Malta’s Neva Jacobson, Richey’s Jolee Klempel, Lambert’s Tayen Carda, Billings Central’s Lyssa Peterson, Sidney’s Ave Norby, Lockwood’s Dani Jordan, Lambert’s Keira Rains and Sidney’s Savanna Anderson. The team was coached by Bill Triplett of Williston State College.

The squad, which was given the name of Piopu, defeated Kapaluha by an 86-34 final in the championship game. Other victories included 7019 over Kapalua, 79-24 over Kapukahe and 66-65 over Papohaku.

Hansen and Wilson agreed that the trip was truly memorable for them. “There was a good mixture of basketball, touring and free time on the island,” Hansen, who is entering her senior year in Bainville, said. “We were in Honolulu so we got to see all of the government buildings for Hawaii.”

Wilson, a 2025 graduate of Bainville, added, “I learned so much from the trip by talking to the local people and those visiting. On our free day, a few of us went to the zoo and saw some very cool animals as well. Hawaii Hoopfest put together a great experience and I’m very grateful that Coach Triplet reached out and invited me to play.”

She explained that being on a team with amazing players and earning gold medals was a fun accomplishment. Wilson also liked the beach and the food.

Hansen added, “The basketball itself was a very different play style than Montana so it was a really good experience for our team who was completely from Montana. The Hawaii Hoopfest program had good trust in the players so it was super great to do things by ourselves like going to the zoo, beach and mall.”

Bulldogs

Bainville’s Elsie Wilson (left) and Addison Hansen (right) recently played at a

basketball tournament in Hawaii.

(Photo submitted)