Coaches: Jae Byun (head coach), Janice Kim (assistant coach), Ronald Quedec (assistant coach), John Wooldridge (assistant coach)
Top Returning Players: Erin Choi (12), Natalie Do (12), Rebecca Fruto (12), Taylor Parra (12)
Top Newcomers: Arianna Holguin (10), Sydney Kim (10), Kayla Ma (10)
Last Season: The Lady Lancers advanced to the CIF quarterfinals but suffered a 61-44 loss against Flintridge Preparatory School in San Gabriel. In the Freeway League, the team ended in third place with a 5-6 Freeway record (21-11 overall).
One of the highlights last year was breaking Troy High School’s winning streak against the Lancers on Tuesday, Jan. 2, at a home game.
“The moment the buzzer went off, I started jumping around with my team,” co-captain Parra said. “It was so relieving and just such a happy moment for all of us.”
Outlook: Byun liked what he saw last season and said he expects his returning and new players to continue with the momentum that last year’s team built.
“Last year, we were very competitive,” he said. “We defended well, so we want to keep defending well and continue to be competitive.”
An area of concern is the Lady Lancers’ offense.
“We struggled to score at times,” the head coach said. “This is an area we want to improve in to be even more successful this time around.”
The coach had the girls participate in numerous drills so as to gain confidence in their shooting.
Focusing on athleticism and technique has worked to enhance their overall gameplay, said Byun.
Parra said she agreed with her head coach’s assessment of the team.
“We are a relatively small team, and that has been tough for us when facing taller teams,” she said. “We’ve improved a lot getting up on defense and being quicker than our opponents.”
Despite the height disadvantage, the co-team captain said other factors come into play when the Lady Lancers start Freeway League play.
“We strive to build our chemistry with one another, which allows us to play the best we can, and of course, we want to win games and get as far as we can in CIF,” Parra said. “When we have a lot of fans in the crowd and constant cheering, we get the motivation to win.”
The girls have played 13 non-league games with a record of 7-6 as well as three tournaments in which they experienced both winning and losing streaks.
The Lady Lancers will play their first Freeway League game Thursday, Dec. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at home against the Sonora Raiders with an overall record of 26-4.
