Imagine waking up a whole hour earlier than your usual wake up time every Friday morning… Sounds gruesome, right? Well the Varsity basketball players did that almost every Friday morning of this winter season; but it was all worth it. Marymount’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Basketball teams soared through the season with great wins and minimal losses.  Both grew significantly as a team this season with Varsity Basketball even advancing into CIF Playoffs. Ball is life, am I right?

JV Basketball ended strong with one last win against Immaculate Heart High School. They finished the season with 13 wins and 4 losses and succeeded in league 7-1. Congratulations to JV and especially the new freshmen players. Varsity Basketball is advancing into playoffs 17-4 this season overall and 7-1 in league. Part of their team growth this past winter was seen at the MaxPreps Holiday Tournament in Palm Springs. They played against Rancho Mirage, Hesperia Christian, Palm Valley, and Archer, winning 1st place overall.

This season has been one of their best in recent years. “I think team chemistry is good this year; it was lacking in the past. Our goal now is to make it to the championship games, but being able to make it to quarter-finals or semi-finals would prove to be a successful season too,” said Coach Baker.

Every player has executed some great plays and succeeded in catching the other teams off guard. They have all shown exceptional performance on the court and continue to impress us everyday. Varsity’s forward, Alexa Osime ’16, said, “We have all become really close over the year so the team chemistry is amazing and everyone’s skills have improved so much over the season, which is what has helped us go far this year.”

While the games seemed to be more competitive and challenging this year, the team learned to play together, but individually as well. Coach Baker commented on his joy in seeing that the girls were able to coach each other so that he didn’t need to yell as often. The Sailors showed great sportsmanship through balanced scoring, making the offense effective, and improved on defensive pressure, which was different from Marymount’s previous styles of play.

“The moment I was proudest was when we lost a tough game against Brentwood for the championship title at the Brentwood Tournament. The next day we met as a team and the girls set a goal to not lose the rest of the season. As a coach, I saw that they were maturing and were setting some serious goals,” said Coach Baker—as he unwrapped his candy bracelet.

Basketball has had an interesting and eventful winter from traveling to the Palm Springs Tournament, to buying Starbucks after Friday morning practices.

“My favorite memory was Palm Springs because I got to bunk with my Asian squad,” Adrianna Silerio ’17 recalled, “I got closer with my friends whom I shall have for the rest of my life.” Alexa agrees that their time together has been a lot of fun. She admits that she laughs her hardest when she is with them. She loves that they’ve created so many hilarious memories and jokes together.

When asked about the best game or memory, members of the team, including Coach Baker said there were too many fun moments to recall.

“Adrian Skrentny—period,” laughed Coach Baker as he ate yet another piece of candy.

So, all the hard work—early morning practices and hours of conditioning—have paid off. Aside from their challenging and busy season, these Sailors have had a great experience with memories and friends they’ll keep forever. Congratulations to our B-Ball Sailors! Come support Varsity for the remainder of CIF Playoffs and fill the student section with Sailor Spirit!