Both Dimond Basketball teams went to the state championships. The games were bittersweet, with the Dimond girls winning their game and taking the title, for the second year in a row, and the boys losing in overtime.

The games were intense and the crowd could tell how much the players wanted to win based on their hustle and effort they put on the court. Every Dimond fan was proud to be cheering on their passionate Lynx.

The Lady Lynx game was fairly close throughout the game. Against the Bartlett girls, the score was kept around a 20 point lead for Dimond most of the game.

Towards the end of the game Bartlett was able to catch up and close the gap leading to the final score to be 62-57 Dimond. Alissa Pili, star player and three time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year(GPOY), lead the team by scoring 40 points in the game.

Aryianna Camacho-Villafuerte is a guard for the Dimond girls basketball team, and was on the team last year when they won as well. In the game she scored the second most, 15 points, for the team.

“Knowing that people did not believe in us made us work a lot harder,” Camacho-Villafuerte said. She really loves how hard the Dimond girls worked to win it again this year.

“It felt good, I could not have done it without my teammates giving me great support,” Camacho-Villafuerte said. Her love for her team and the game show just how much the girls team pinned to win.

Last year Larissa Parker, and multiple other players, were apart of the varsity team and won. Now many are two time state champions and take great pride in that.

“It always feels amazing to win a state championship, but winning for the second year in a row was something different,” Parker said.

She even tweeted a replica of her original state champion tweet where she is jumping in the air right after winning and quotes, “When mom makes pizza rolls!!”

“All the pictures that are taken of the celebrations are the best because it captures pure, true emotion,” Parker also said. It was to show excitement thather and her team felt in that moment.

The boys game was more stressful for everyone playing and watching. The Diamond boys played Ketchikan going back and forth for the lead constantly.

At halftime Dimond had a lead over Ketchikan with the score of 31-23. The Kings (Ketchikan) quickly caught up and kept the score tight until the game ended in a tie at 50-50.

In overtime, Ketchikan took the lead causing Dimond to play catch-up for the four minutes of overtime until Ketchikan won with the final score of 53-57.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Dimond, but the fans remained proud of the boys and the band ended their night with the Dimond Fight Song.

Like the girls basketball team, there were many boys players that had played last year in the state championship, like Noah Brandon.

“Playing with my team was really great. They are a great group that is always there to help through the ups and the downs of the seasons,” Brandon said. The whole team team cares about each other and the game of basketball.

Both Dimond teams also had dedicated fans that came and cheered their hearts out for both games. With both teams extreme work ethic and drive, win or lose they made every Dimond fan proud to cheer on their Lynx.