SAN ANTONIO – The Hutto Hippos Unified basketball team traveled to San Antonio March 6 to compete in the state championship tournament.
The Hippos competed hard all the way until the end, where they would find themselves with a third-place finish in the tournament.
The unified basketball team consists of special education students, as well as the general population students. This allows for more inclusivity in sports, but most importantly, it allows for more people to have a smile on their face because of sports.
This was the first year the Hippos have competed in the unified division, and head coach Macie Jones said she is going to have another team next year.
She said this season was a lot of fun, especially because the kids enjoyed it so much.
The Hippos played out their first season as a team and punched their ticket to play for the state championship in San Antonio. The Hippos needed to win one game in order to advance to the big game for the big trophy, but unfortunately, they fell in overtime.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Judson High School took a shot and as the buzzer sounded, the ball fell perfectly through the net to end the Hippos season.
Jones said the loss definitely stings because the team worked so hard to reach that level of success, but everyone enjoyed their season.
“At the end of the day, we just wanted to have fun,” Jones said.
