Women’s Basketball Preview

The season has only just begun, but women’s basketball is already in full swing.

Try outs, a crucial starting point of any sport, started on November 11 and ended on November 13 for women’s basketball, according to varsity freshman Mikaela Bismillah. “We mostly ran, did drills, and worked on our fundamental basketball skills,” she said.

After long hours of hard training and work to display the best of their athletic capabilities, the ladies waited anxiously for the results that were to be revealed on the evening of November 13.

The team roster for JV is as follows: Keya Shah (3), Kassandra Moranda (4), Vanessa Fukuchi (10), Catherine Neubrand (12), Jennifer Hashimoto (15), Shannon Toy (22) and Hayley Fujii (30) in the guard positions; Lolita Komleva (11), Sabhlok Shefali (21), Ally Tayag (23) and Ritika Pudota (24) in the forward positions; and Vardhinee Prakash (14) and Pamela Grissom (45) in the center positions.

The team roster for varsity is as follows: Alyssa Cruz (1), Brianna Tahira (4), Maria Nazarova (14) and Mikaela Bismillah (32) in the guard positions; Kaylee Wong (3), Amisha Kambath (10) and Jada Crawl (23) in the forward positions; Jordan Turner (11), Abby Tayag (12) and Leilani Querubin (13) in the guard and forward positions; and Allyxis Fadal (21) and Skylar Jenkins (40) in the forward and center positions.

Even with the variety of faces of both newcomers and veterans on the rosters, equal effort and teamwork are what matter in making up the overall success of the teams. Everything from efficient communication on the court to bonding time during practices builds team spirit and strengthens them as a whole.

Already the ladies have a sense of togetherness and an almost exclusive mindset that athletes in a team often share. To them, no one member is the single best or key player—they all work together and pull their own weight.

“Everybody contributes an equal and important part to the team,” said varsity freshman Amisha Kambath.

The first event of women’s basketball was a varsity scrimmage at Marin Catholic High School on November 22, followed by the first games of both JV and varsity against Granada High School at home on November 25. The next, most recent game will be at Cal High for both JV and varsity on December 9.

With the 2014-2015 schedule packed full of scrimmages, games and tournaments against rival schools such as Alhambra, Dublin, Miramonte and Acalanes, gradually working up to the NCS and NorCal playoffs and eventually the State Championships, the Wildcats women’s basketball team is bound to have a great season.