The Dos Pueblos High School varsity girls basketball team finished its league season with a 9-3 record and a second-place finish. The team entered the Division II playoffs as underdogs; they defeated highly ranked schools, Los Alamitos High School and San Juan Hills High School, before losing in the quarterfinals.
“We never, at the end of the season, would have thought we’d made it this far,” Nayak said. “I think especially when we had such a big injury, like Taylor tearing her ACL so early on, it made a lot of our hopes just seem unreachable.”
Over the season, the team proved to be resilient and adapted to the challenges they faced to win many games.
According to Kindah Ahmad Reda (10), it was not always “smooth sailing” for the girls’ basketball team. One of the major challenges the team faced was injuries, including Grant tearing her ACL in the third game of the season.
“I’m pretty sure everyone on our team has suffered an injury this year,” Lucy Holian (11) said. “We were able to keep everyone healthy, with everyone taking the time that they needed and doing their correct exercises.”
The team said they had to rely on each other throughout the season when others got injured.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries this year, and everyone’s stepped up,” Nayak said. “They just stepped into roles that they wouldn’t normally be in, even if it’s just for a game or two. That’s been very key for us.”
The team used various methods during and before the season to help stay fit, which Letendre said helped them improve their gameplay.
“We’ve done a lot of weight training and conditioning, a lot more than other years, and I feel like that’s important,” Letendre said. “In the moment, it’s kind of rough, but it’s helped us a lot with our stamina and being able to run teams out of the gym.”
The team also attributed much of its success to its coach, Andy Casanueva.
“When we’re tired, and we’re being pushed to run, our coach tells us to keep pushing,” said Holian. “He believes in us, and he pushes us to our limits, and he knows our limits.”
The team was on the road for most of their season, playing only nine home games out of 30 total. Although the frequent travel was tiring, Grant said that it helped them bond together more.
“I think it’s honestly brought us together, having to be in the vans together, that’s a lot of time spent as a team,” Grant said. “So I feel like that’s just brought us closer.”
Additionally, the members of the team said they bonded over many different activities outside of basketball.
“We’ve gone to the movies a lot as a team, we always have our team dinners, and we saw the Santa Barbara Zoo lights together,” Nayak said. “But I think the biggest bonding thing we did was our trip to San Diego during winter break.”
Holian added that the bonding activities helped the team develop their chemistry and improve their gameplay.
“We’re so close with each other,” Holian said. “So our team chemistry on and off the court is so great, and we trust each other a lot.”
Letendre said the team had many memorable moments during the season, but wins against rival San Marcos High School and playoff victories over Los Alamitos and San Juan Hills stood out.
“I would definitely say beating SM in the second round of league, or winning the second round CIF game on [the 14th] against San Juan Hills, were my favorite moments,” Letendre said.
Ahmad-Reda said they are disappointed about the season ending, they are proud of their overall success, and are hoping for another great season next year.
“It’s upsetting, but I’m honestly really proud of how far our team has gone, and I don’t think I could have asked for a better season,” Ahmad-Reda said. “I’m excited for next season.”
