Fairfield high school Eagles and Lady Eagles varsity basketball teams take their games to a big stage next week when they compete in the 52nd annual Whataburger Basketball Tournament.

The tourney runs from Monday through Wednesday and boasts 21 teams ranked in the top 20 in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

Three nationally renowned teams, California’s Long Beach Polytechnic boys and West Anchorage, Alaska, boys and girls are also set to compete.

A total of 48 teams are entered in the tourney. Included for the first time is a 16-team girls’ competition.

The Fairfield Lady Eagles are scheduled to play Princeton Monday at 11:30 a.m. at Saginaw high school in Fort Worth.

TABC ranks the Lady Eagles as number 10 in Class AAA and Princeton as number 17 in AAA.

In the second round, Fairfield girls will face either Liberty Christian, ranked eighth in TAPPS, or Tuscola Jim Ned, ranked 10th in AA.

The girls’ division championship game is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Lady Eagles junior Courtney Morton is listed by tournament organizers as a “Player to Watch,” noting that she is 5-10 and averaged 16 points per game during the 2008 season.

The Fairfield Eagles tip off at 6 p.m. Monday against Ponder at the Haltom City high school gymnasium in Haltom City.

At the 2008 Whataburger, Ponder defeated Fairfield in the second round.

Second round action will pit the Eagles against either Van or Liberty Christian.

The boys’ blue division championship game is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Teams in the boys’ blue division are pulled from the ranks of A-AAA schools. The girls’ division, also designated blue, is for schools from all classifications.

Boys’ orange division teams are from classes 4-A and 5-A, with games played at W.G. Thomas Coliseum of Birdville Independent School District.

The Whataburger tourney started as a small fundraiser for Fort Worth’s West Side chapter of Lions Club and now is one of the top holiday tournaments in the country for high school teams.

Individual tickets are $6 Monday and $7 Tuesday and Wednesday. A pass for access to one venue for all three days is $17 and an all-venue pass is $30 for all three days.