With the winter weather heading full steam towards North Texas the decision has been made to move games scheduled for Tuesday night against Rio Vista to be played tonight (Monday, January 30th). The Lady Gladiator varsity game will begin tonight at 5:00pm followed by the varsity boys. There will not be any JV games due to this emergency change in schedule.
Italy’s Varsity and JV Gladiators and Lady Gladiators played four games against Whitney. The JV Girls game was played in the old Italy gym while the JV Boys and both Varsity games were played under the Italy Coliseum dome.
Mildred, Venus, Italy White and Italy Gold each participated in the Italy Junior High Basketball Tournament this past Saturday. A fairly even field, all the teams won at least one game before the end of tournament play.
Italy’s 7th & 8th grade Junior High girls challenge the Rio Vista Eagles at home in the dome.
The Gladiators and Lady Gladiators’ Varsity and JV teams saddled up and journeyed to Axtell to tangle with the Longhorns Friday night. After Axtell’s fans made it tough on the Lady Gladiators, Italy’s faithful returned the favor in the Varsity boy’s finale. All in good fun, of course!
The Italy Gladiators and Lady Gladiators’ Varsity and JV squads traveled to Maypearl to take on the Panthers in what proved to be an exciting night of Texas 2A Basketball.
Italy — During the Italy J.V. Boys Basketball Tournament held in Italy on Saturday, the JV Gladiators needed to move past Rice in the first round to make into the championship game.
Grandview — The Grandview Zebras have had a consistent basketball program for years, respected for their long-range shooting abilities. Often, varsity games between Italy and Grandview must be decided in the final minutes and Friday night was no different.
The Italy Youth Athletic Association (IYAA) hit the gym floor running this past Saturday to open their 2011 basketball season. The IYAA entered ten teams in five separate divisions and over one-hundred players ready to compete against teams representing the Hillsboro Sports Association.
Total team efforts get the job done as both Italy Junior High boys teams were victorious in their two outings against the Keene JH Chargers inside Italy Coliseum on Thursday.
Italy — Italy’s JV Gladiators went old school in the old Italy gym and handed the Clifton Cubs an old-fashion blow-out loss. Reminiscent of Gladiator teams of old, the JV Gladiators conquered Clifton from both the air and inside the paint.
The Junior High Lady Gladiators Basketball Team will travel to Blooming Grove on January 15, 2011 to compete in their annual Junior High Girls Basketball Tournament. Both the 7th grade and 8th grade teams will play their first round games against Wortham.
Dallas — After a 10:00 a.m shoot-around inside Italy Coliseum, the 2A Italy Gladiators players, coaches and cheerleaders loaded onto the school bus and ventured into downtown Dallas to challenge the 3A Mineral Wells Rams inside the American Airlines Center (AAC) on Thursday.
Additional photographs documenting the Italy Gladiators and their recent journey into Dallas to play a basketball game against the Mineral Wells Rams inside the American Airlines Center. After a post-game meal, Gladiator Nation returned to the AAC to watch the Dallas Mavericks take on the San Antonio Spurs….what a day!
The Italy Lady Gladiators played three rounds in the 2010 Kiwanis Classic Basketball Tournament on the Navarro College campus in Corsicana. There were highs and lows along the way but Italy finished the tournament strong hoping to carry some momentum with them upon returning to district play.
With a final score of 58-54 against the Venus Bulldogs, the Italy Varsity, led by Coach Aiden Callahan. “The Bulldogs played with an expect to win attitude. They are a great club,” said Coach Callahan. “They did a good job taking care of the ball. However, our kids persevered and played through. I am proud of them.”
The Italy Gladiators will travel, to the big city of Dallas, and play a game against the Mineral Wells Rams inside the American Airlines Center on Thursday, December 30 with a start time of around 2:15 p.m.
The Italy J.V. Gladiators’ basketball team wins three of the four games they played during the Ferris JV Tournament to finish in 3rd place. You can catch the Italy JV team in action, tonight at the Junior High gym in Whitney, starting at 5:00 p.m.
Coach Callahan and his varsity Gladiator basketball team will travel to Castleberry High School in Fort Worth to compete in their annual holiday tournament. Italy first game will be on Monday, December 27th at 1:30pm. See bracket for more details.
The Lady Gladiators will be matched up with the Kerens Lady Bobcats in their first game of the 2010 Kiwanis Classic Basketball Tournament. Game time will be 6:30pm on Monday, December 27 at the Wolens Special Events Center located on the Navarro College campus in Corsicana.
Italy — After an eventful four games played between Italy’s and Axtell’s junior high girls’ basketball squads on Monday, Axtell’s teams managed to escape with 3-out-of-4 wins. However, much improved Italy teams made the task for Axtell more difficult as opposed to an earlier season matchup between our two towns.
Final IYAA Basketball Sign-ups are scheduled for Thursday, December 16 and Saturday, December 18. Eligible players are kindergarten thru 6th grades. There will be no sign-ups allowed after Saturday so please do not delay.
Those who ordered Maverick’s tickets, in order to attend the Italy Gladiators vs the Mineral Wells Rams basketball game on December 30th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas take note. You need to pick up your tickets from the Italy ISD administration office by Thursday, December 16. Vouchers must be presented in order to pick up the tickets.
The Italy Gladiators and the Italy J.V. Gladiators seem to be hitting their strides and hitting plenty of shots in the process. In Rice, both Italy teams shot their way to early leads and then coasted in the second halves.
An amazing three days of basketball, the 2010 Italy Invitational Tournament ended with both the Italy Lady Gladiators and the Gladiators Varsity teams winning Championships.
The Lady Gladiator Varsity Basketball Team will travel to Venus tomorrow, December 9, for their first game in the Venus Subway Classic Basketball Tournament. Game time on Thursday will be 6:00pm. Coming off of their tournament championship last weekend these ladies have their sights set on another trophy. The Ladies’ JV team will play this Saturday, December 11, in a one-day tournament hosted by Itasca. See brackets.
Just as your heart has returned to its normal rhythm from last weekend’s tournament championship the Gladiators will be battling on the hardwood again this weekend in West. The Kolache Klassic Invitational Tournament is set to begin this Thursday, December 9, with the finals on Saturday, December 11. Enjoy the ride!
The annual Italy Invitational Basketball Tournament will begin this Thursday, December 2 and run thru Saturday, December 4. Both Italy varsity teams (boys and girls) will be competing in this tournament. See brackets for game times.
After the holiday break, Italy’s Junior High basketball teams returned to the hardwood against the Whitney Wildcats on Monday. The boys teams competed in Italy while the girls teams battled for bragging rights in Whitney.
The Italy Gladiators, under first year head coach Aidan Callahan, got their 2010-2011 season off to a positive start with a decisive win over the Hubbard Jaguars last Friday in Hubbard. The JV Gladiators saw action also as both Italy teams hope to duplicate some of the magic from last season.
As you enter George E. Scott Memorial Gymnasium, a faint cheering of fans can be heard as excitement fills the lobby where trophy after trophy reminds us of our great Lady Gladiator and Gladiator legends from the past. After grabbing a snack from the concession stand, guests make their way into the gym where the intensity on the court merges with the roar of the crowd. It’s game time again!
Tuesday night gave the Italy Lady Gladiators’ fans a glimpse of what we can expect to see during the 2010-2011 basketball season. By all indications, this is going to be another exciting run for the varsity ladies after they took care of business against the Kemp Lady Yellow Jackets to start their season 1-0. Just as impressive was Italy’s JV team who played very aggressively against Kemp and set the tone for the entire season.
Ticket vouchers must be purchased no later than 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 14.
Under the direction of NCAA certified basketball coach Aaron Itson, the Texas Elite basketball team will once again combine the athletic talents of both Italy and Maypearl and participate in the, NCAA sanctioned, Prime Time National Basketball Tournament (11th – 12th grade division).
During a summer league Varsity basketball game against the Avalon Eagles, the Italy Gladiators put 72 points on the board to Avalon’s 21 inside the domenasium in Avalon.
Lady Gladiator head coach Stacy McDonald will be conducting a summer skills basketball camp in late June. Coach McDonald will be assisted by current and former Lady Gladiators during this three day camp. The Lady Gladiators are coming off of their first play-off win in 18 years. Girls entering grades 3rd through 9th are urged to come and be a part of that success.
Gladiator Basketball Camp with Coach Aidan Callahan and Coach Larry Mayberry was an exciting educational experience for campers with fast-paced drills and a shark infested court.
Several aspiring young basketball players recently participated in the “Hoop it up’ with Rich and Ro” girls basketball camp this past week coached by Italy High School juniors, and current members of the Lady Gladiators basketball team, Megan Richards and Kaitlyn Rossa. Fueled by their own teams recent momentum, Richards and Rossa hope to keep the Lady Gladiators continuing forward for years to come.
The entire Gladiator Basketball staff would like to invite all boys who are entering grades 4-9 next school year to attend the 2010 Basketball Youth Camp June 14 through June 17.
Monday, June 7 through Thursday, June 10 there will be a girl’s basketball camp held at the old gym at Italy High School. Camp times are 8:30am through 11:30am. This four day camp will cost $30 for four days of instruction (or $10 per day). All proceeds will go towards gym rental and awards. Instructors will be Lady Gladiator Basketball players Megan Richards (#22) and Kaitlyn Rossa (#3).
Waxahachie High School head girls basketball coach Leslie Priebe, friend and mentor of Italy High School head girls basketball coach, Stacy McDonald will be conducting a girls basketball camp June 7-10. The camp is for ages 6-14 and will be held in the Waxahachie High School Gymnasium.
Waxahachie — The 1A Lady Gladiators, with their head head coach Stacy McDonald playing the role of a fan in the stands, began their Summer League Basketball schedule against the 4A Corsicana Tigers on Monday at Waxahachie High School.
Recently, Lady Gladiator head basketball coach Stacy McDonald touched up the 1997 State Champs basketball originally painted by Stevan McKey, a 1994 Italy alumnus, to honor the team after the Italy Gladiators made their dream a reality.
The IYAA will be passing out end of the season basketball trophies and coaches plaques in front of Game On Athletics during their grand opening on Saturday, March 27, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Meet Game On Athletics owner, Erick Thompson, and have a hotdog!
What a way to end the 2010 season of IYAA Basketball! In the first two games on Tuesday, Italy teams earned back-to-back wins over visiting Hillsboro. In the finale, Italy 31 pulled off the upset against, undefeated, Italy 29 in one of the most exciting games in the history of IYAA Sports.
After finishing in 1st Place with a 10-0 record in district play (28-5 overall) and ultimately finishing as regional finalists for the second year in a row, six members of the Italy Gladiator Basketball Team received all-district honors. In addition, Italy Gladiator Basketball head coach Kyle Holley was named “Coach of the Year” in district 15A.
Abilene — After moving past Clyde Eula on Friday 52-51 to claim the regional semi-final championship, the Italy Gladiators (28-5) locked horns with the Bronte Longhorns in the regional final championship game on Saturday.
With the season coming to a close, this is just the beginning for IYAA’s basketball players whose careers are just getting started. Due to scheduling conflicts, the IYAA hosted four games on Thursday inside the old Italy gym.
Scoring updates of the 4:00pm game:
Abilene — The 8th ranked Italy Gladiators overcame a sluggish first quarter start to defeat the 5th ranked Clyde Eula Pirates 52-51 to claim the regional semi-final championship. Italy will play the 15th ranked Bronte Longhorns Saturday, March 6 at 4:00 inside Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum. The winner will become the regional final champion and earn a trip to the state tournament in Austin.
