The Paly girls basketball team finished this season with a record of 0-24 (0-12 in the De Anza League). This season was especially difficult for the players as the team only had one returning varsity player from the year prior, and the team consisted of only one senior and junior, and the rest underclassmen, alongside a new head coach.
“Coach Blunt was a good coach and he taught us many skills that will help all of us throughout our basketball career including strengthening out ballhandling, our shooting, and our mental strength on the court,” sophomore guard Cami Ogawa said.
Despite the winless season, the girls did the best with what they had and made most of their season, progressively getting better and improving.
“We definitely improved as a team this year,” Ogawa said. “We became more confident in our skills and started learning more of the game and how to get out of certain situations with teamwork.”
Despite the team struggles, the girls were upbeat and excited throughout the season with their individual and team growth.
“I’ve was really proud of our positive and encouraging attitudes this season,” senior Eliana Friedman said. “I’ve seen each player on the team improve tremendously, especially since we had a lot of underclassmen this year there were a lot of people stepping up with shooting, ball handling, rebounding and defense.”
The team is proud of the hard work and progress they made from the beginning of the season to the end. One specific game that showed improvement was their second match against league opponent Homestead. The first time these two teams faced off, Paly suffered a tough loss 56-17. However, just a few weeks later in their second matchup, the team showed great improvement and lost 55-33, scoring more points and holding Homestead to less points.
“[In that second Homestead game] we came out of the gates with power,” Ogawa said. “We had great defense and we were communicating well, and our offense we were staying more calm and running our plays and we were getting buckets. Last time the homestead coach wasn’t worried about us beating them but this time we had them on their toes.”
Another pivotal game for the team was their game against Gunn. Going into the game, the team was really excited about facing their rivals and giving it their all.
“[Gunn] was one of the first games where everyone just really wanted it so we played as hard as we could,” Friedman said. “That game gave us momentum for the season going forward to show us just how much energy we need to put into every game.”
The team is hopeful that their continued hard work, dedication, and learned experience on the varsity level will propel them to a successful season next year.
“I can’t wait for the next season and I am excited to see more growth from our team,” Ogawa said. “From the improvement we’ve made this year our skills will only get better from this point on.”
