Aledo claims victories over Chisholm Trail

The Aledo Bearcat and Ladycat basketball teams continued their respective hardwood competition over winter break and experienced plenty of success in the win column during the holiday hiatus. Just before the break, the Aledo hoops teams traveled to Chisholm Trail and swept the Rangers for a pair of double-digit district wins. The Bearcats emerged victorious by a final score of 61-51 while the Ladycats earned a 48-24 victory.

On the boys side, Aledo was led by seniors Enrique Pacheco and Townes Van Huysen, who each scored 20 points. Van Huysen added seven boards while junior guard Caden Cunningham finished with 11 points and five assists. Senior guard Josiah Jenkins poured in eight points to the winning effort.

Aledo’s Big Three of Pacheco, Van Huysen, and Cunningham are off to tremendous overall starts to their season. Through 20 games, Pacheco is averaging 16.1 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 90% from the free throw line and 44% from beyond the arc. Van Huysen, a forward, has per-game averages of 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and is shooting 60% from the field. Cunningham, a junior, is averaging 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and is shooting a team-best 45% from three-point range.

Up next, the Bearcats (15-6, 1-0) will host its next district foe at 8 p.m. Tuesday against Fossil Ridge.

Ladycats rolling into 2026

Meanwhile, the Aledo Ladycats impressed in their 48-24 road victory at Chisholm Trail. Senior post Tiara Butler led the way with a game-high 18 points while Brooklyn Dempsey and Elizabeth Griffin recorded eight and seven points, respectively. The subvarsity programs also posted dominant wins with the Ladycat JV squad, led by 28 points from Sunny Rosado, earning a 55-23 victory while the freshman team won 44-15 behind 15 points from Fatima Choudhry.

Following their impressive win over Chisholm Trail, the varsity Ladycats took their talents to the Sandra Meadows Holiday Tournament, where Aledo finished 2-2 overall in the tournament that spanned from Monday, Dec. 29 to Wednesday, Dec. 31. On the first day, Aledo edged Huntsville 47-43 before getting clipped 43-42 by Arkansas High School. Aledo nosed ahead and held off Arlington Grace Prep 45-42 in the following contest before facing defeat against Amarillo Palo Duro by a final score of 54-47 on New Year’s Eve.

Through four games, Butler had 63 points to lead her team, which included a 24-point performance against Hunstville. Griffin poured in 43 points during the stretch while Kate Jackson was strong with a total of 34 points across four games. Kennedy Cardenas contributed 10 points and provided plenty of energy for Aledo while Dempsey scored 16 total points.

The Ladycats (14-7, 2-0) will take the court again at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Fossil Ridge.