Tucumcari girl advances to Elks Hoop Shoot finals

Tucumcari second-grader Trinity Gonzales recently won the Elks Regional Hoop Shoot national semifinals in Texas and is advancing to next month's championship competition in Chicago.

Trinity, sponsored by Tucumcari Elks Lodge 1172, made 21 of 25 free throws in the age 8-9 girls division at the Southwest Region championships at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas.

Trinity said she was nervous before the Texas competition but prepared with lots of practice.

Her mother, Heather, said Trinity works on her free-throw shooting about three times a week.

"When she's done, she's done," she said. "We don't try to push her real hard on it or anything ... about 50 shots a day."

Heather Gonzales said it was the first time in about 30 years a Tucumcari child has advanced to the national Hoop Shoot contest.

The Southwest Region includes New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. According to a news release from the New Mexico Elks Association, more than 340,000 children in the Southwest Region competed in Elks basketball contests.

Trinity previously won the Tucumcari competition, then the Northeast District shoot-off. She became state champ in her age group in the New Mexico Elks Association competition.

The 50th annual national Hoop Shoot championships will be April 30 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, gathering the best free-throw shooters from 12 regions across the country. Wintrust Arena is home to the WNBA's champion Chicago Sky team and the NCAA's DePaul Blue Demons.

Trinity also has a chance to have her name engraved on the Elks trophy in the Basketball Hall of Fame. In Chicago, finalists will receive a box of trading cards with their name, photos and fun facts to trade with other finalists and volunteers.

Friends, family, community members and schoolmates can send Trinity a Hoop Shoot greeting and well-wishes through April 18 at elks.org/hoopshoot/greetings.cfm?FinalistID=1745.

Livestreams of the April 30 competition will be at enf.elks.org/HSLivestreams.