The highs and lows of the basketball players
The girls basketball team posing for a team photo. Photo courtesy of Jill Ebner.
By Maitri Rane, centerspread editor
When the long-term coach of Maria Carrillo women’s basketball coach Jeff Paul tragically passed away on February 3rd, 2024. Team members suffered mentally and physically and overcame the ups and downs of the season, the season continued, so the team decided to push through and were able to win the league and did a phenomenal job this season.
The bond between the Varsity team captains allowed them to work through the hardships together as they tried to make it to the state championships. “I think for us it's especially notable because we've all been on varsity for all four years and we're the only people in our grade that have been on varsity,” said Jill Ebner, senior and one of the varsity captains. She explains that it was a really fun journey to see how they progressed every year t. “The skill development that we all had compared to other years, there was a huge jump and I think that spoke to our success this year as well.,” said Chloe Cunningham, senior and another of the varsity captains. As captains, they inspired everyone on their team to improve for every upcoming game. Ebner said, “I think a lot of people came to us with their problems and whenever there was an issue, we've learned that we should handle it maturely.” The captains gained trust from other teammates and made sure they knew they could rant to their captains about anything, knowing that it would not be held against them. “I think all three of us are incredibly vocal people and that really carried over onto and off the court in the locker room. For games, just talking about what we wanted to do in that game like to focus and make sure that everyone is focusing,” continued Cunningham.
A good sports team needs a lot of chemistry and bonding. “We had a lot of team dinners,” said senior Leyna Gorauskas, the third varsity captain. “I think it (team chemistry) really just helps when you are stuck in a gym with 12 other people for six days a week, that kind of just forces you to build it,” said Cunningham. Captains also mentioned that they took breaks from each other when they needed it, “because, again, we were spending a lot of time together, and anybody, if you spend that much time together, there's going to be tensions, and so I think a lot of it was just understanding that,” said Ebner.
The captains explained one of the many memorable moments of the season, with Gorauskas saying, “I feel like our first game against Newman, we played really good, and I feel like we played as a team, which just showed us that we're better than we thought we were and that if we play as a team, we can go far in playoffs, we can win games, and I feel like that was, like, a little turning point in our season.” Ebner continued, “Another one was the game after that which was the Monty game after we found out about Jeff and that's when a couple of us said that we weren't gonna play that game and everybody ended up playing that game and scoring that game.” They wanted to make Jeff proud by showing him how far they could go in the playoffs. “It was just really special considering that all three of us have been playing together since freshman year and to see kinda the impact not only on the court but also off the court that Jeff had on us and to express through the last ten games of the season.” The girls wanted to play their hearts out for Jeff knowing “he was up there watching us and cheering for us was a positive impact for us,” Cunningham continued. “We kinda knew it was coming because he was sick the whole season so I think even though it was really sad we just wanted to end the season for him and come really far," said Gorauskas.
The team members pushed through the adversity and struggles that affected their game which is very inspiring and always will be. The women’s basketball team came a long way in the playoffs and the school is impressed by their accomplishments.