The Blueberries Fight for the Hoop!

Written by Stella Signorelli

IAA has dominated the arts, now it’s time to bring their success to the basketball court. 

While their first basketball games, such as the boys game on Dec. 3 and the girls game on Dec. 4, both ended in losses, the Fighting Blueberries are not allowing that to bring them down, and they plan to play more games during the second semester!

The boys team has one away game in Cadillac against the Cadillac Area Homeschool Association (CAHA) on Jan. 12, as well as a follow-up game against them back on home turf on Jan. 30. Their final games will be at the Dennison Center on Feb. 6 and Feb. 23, against the boys team of the Traverse City Bulldogs Athletic Association (TCBAA). 

The girls basketball team formed for the first time in IAA history in the fall of 2022. While many of the girls from the original team have already graduated, the freshmen from the original team still remain and have dedicatedly played for four years now! 

One of the first girls to be on the basketball team, four-year Visual Arts major Muniba Ritman Oke, affirms, “I am honestly very proud of myself and the other people around me [for being a part of the team].”

Whether they play competitive games or not, the girls enjoy the exercise and the camaraderie they get from practicing with the team.

The girls’ game schedule includes away games, such as those against Mesick Consolidated High School (Jan. 30) and Suttons Bay High School (Feb. 2). 

Their final three games will all be hosted at the Dennison Center, against TCBAA (Feb. 6), Grand Traverse Academy (Feb. 16), and finally one last game against the TCBAA (Feb. 23).

While our season may have begun with a dull start, we are as excited as ever for these future games, and we plan to win!