Boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball are both approaching the end of the preseason with sentiments holding high among players as the undersized squads move towards their MCAL seasons.

The boys team is off to a 5-3 start, and the girls team has a record of 2-4 as of press time.
According to senior Mitch Thompson, this year’s varsity boys’ team is a small one, and their style of play reflects their strengths as shooters.

“We’re undersized, which means we are a  very guard-heavy team,” Thompson said. “Most of the guys shoot the ball low, and we are a very good shooting team. Our shooting is our strongest point.”

Junior Ariella Rosenthal said that the girls’ team is also undersized, and that this year her team is largely relying on agility.

“Speed is something we rely on a lot,” Rosenthal said, “just to push the ball up the court before the defense gets settled.”

Rosenthal added that the team’s multi-sport athletes are bringing their fair share of the speed.

“We have a lot of soccer players and lacrosse players, and we’ve been doing ACL training outside of practice to help with our agility and speed,” she said.

Thompson said that this year, the boys team is playing to its stregnths and utilizing its outside shooting talent.

“If they have a guy in who’s bigger than anyone that we have, then we are probably going to go with five out, with five guys around the three-point-line,” Thompson said.

The boys’ team competed in the Viking Tip-Off Classic and  Rose City Tournament earlier this season. The team was victorious against Maria Carrillo, Cordova, Liberty, and Santa Rosa, and lost against Cardinal Newman twice as well as against San Marin.

The girls’ team has wins against Eureka and Windsor, and has losses against Piedmont, Washington, Casa Grande and Ukiah.

Senior Samson Donick received all-tournament honors at the Viking Tip-Off Classic. Facing elimination, Donick led the Giants to a 73-59 victory over Cordova High School with 27 points. The Giants would go on to win in the consolation game against Liberty High School, securing third place.

Senior Rachel Heller was named tournament MVP at Casa Grande, before sustaining a concussion which will bench her for two weeks.

In part because of Heller’s absence, some players on the girls’ squad have had to fill in out of their usual spots.

“Different people have had to play different positions,” Rosenthal said. “[Heller] is our biggest player so it decreases our ability to rebound. Because she got injured it kind of changes our whole game plan.”

Thompson said that this year’s team has been experiencing a higher level of comparability and respect.

“[The seniors] are not separate from the juniors,” he said. “We include them in everything were doing, and we treat them as equals, which wasn’t the case last year. We respect each other.

Rosenthal said that last year’s large graduating class left room for this year’s juniors to step up.

“Because the seniors that left were all guards, we’ve had to replace a lot of guards this year. There are a lot more juniors playing,” she said.