Last winter, the Varsity basketball team was successful in the competitive California Mission League. Varsity Basketball Head Coach Sixx Johnson attributes this success to the team’s hard work and dedication throughout the season, as well as the players’ ability to form a tight-knit community. The team finished the season as runner-up in the CIF Division I championship with a final record of 22-10.

However, with five seniors graduating last season, younger players have had to step into new leadership roles to hold together the team’s culture.

“Although the core of our team graduated, the dynamic is the same because of the culture,” Johnson said.

To kick off the 2023-2024 season, team members Lauren ‘25, Savanna ‘25 and Taylor ‘26 attended the Mission League Media Day at Harvard Westlake School. They took photos and answered interview questions about their upcoming season in front of reporters, as well as students and coaches from other schools in the Mission League. The players discussed their changing team dynamic, and how they were planning to shift their strategies for the season.

“The day was fun overall,” Johnson said. “It’s a great environment for the programs to get together preseason to talk about our teams.” 

Furthermore, the team will be traveling to more tournaments this season than in previous years, including a tournament in Arizona from Dec. 17-21. These tournaments allow the team to both develop chemistry and play in front of potential college coaches. 

“Even though we have more pressure on us this year, I don’t think that it will affect us that much, as long as we don’t focus too much on the crowd but more on the aspects of our game,” Taylor ’26 said.