The annual Candy Cane Classic tournament takes place next week at Gibault Catholic High School, and local girls basketball teams are setting their sights on the top prize. 

The tourney host is off to a 8-0 start this season. The Hawks won last Tuesday, 50-44, over Chester. 

Kailynne Small scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Gibault. Kamille Grohmann added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Alma Freixes Sanchez scored 11 points. 

Small is averaging nearly 17 points per game this season.

Gibault played at Red Bud on Wednesday, winning 43-33, and won at Wood River on Saturday, 48-34.

The Hawks open tourney play 6 p.m. Tuesday against Metro East Lutheran. 

The Candy Cane Classic continues through next Saturday afternoon. See a full tourney bracket below. 

Columbia (4-3) posted a 51-22 victory over Wesclin on Monday. 

Jordan Holten scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Karsen Jany added 10 points and 11 rebounds and Ava Langhans scored 13 points. 

On Saturday, Columbia lost 71-65 to Mascoutah despite 22 points from Jany and 21 points from Langhans. 

On Thursday, Columbia won 74-24 over Wood River. Four players reached double figures for the Eagles, led by Jany with 18 points, Langhans and Taylor Etheridge with 15 and Sam Schmuke with 12. Schmuke also had seven rebounds and 10 steals.

The Eagles played Thursday at Salem, winning 44-33, and open Candy Cane Classic play 7:30 p.m. Monday against Valmeyer. 

Jany is averaging 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest this season. 

Valmeyer (2-3) lost 51-42 to New Athens on Thursday. 

Brooke Miller led the Pirates with 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks. Avery Proffer added 11 points. 

For the season, Miller is averaging 13.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. 

Valmeyer played at Marissa on Thursday, falling 52-23, before Monday’s tourney opener against Columbia. 

Waterloo’s junior varsity squad is playing in this year’s Candy Cane Classic as the varsity team has other tourneys on this year’s schedule. 

Waterloo (5-4) won 37-32 over Triad last Thursday. The Bulldogs trailed 20-6 after the first quarter but took control of the game from there. 

Norah Gum scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Waterloo. Kristin Smith added nine points and 10 rebounds. 

Last Tuesday, Waterloo won 60-20 over Red Bud. Gum scored 18 points in limited minutes and Sam Lindhorst added 12 points for the ‘Dogs.

Waterloo hosted Mascoutah on Thursday, falling 62-54, and then battled Dunlap in a showcase Saturday, falling 58-32.

Waterloo hosts O’Fallon this coming Tuesday. 

Gum is averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game this season to lead the Bulldogs. 

Dupo (5-2) picked up a 46-19 win over KIPP-St. Louis on Monday. That came after a 50-29 win at Lebanon on Saturday and a 37-30 victory over Marissa on Thursday. 

Key players for the Tigers so far this winter have been T’Yonna Burris and Alexia Lewis. 

Dupo plays Monday at Sparta and Tuesday at Steeleville.