Girls basketball team preview

Wyatt Robb
Staff Writer

After losing to Redondo Union in last year’s state championship game, the Mira Costa girls basketball team are set out to avenge their defeat.
However, rebuilding would be no easy task for head coach John Lapham. The Mustangs lost 10 seniors, one of whom was Keilani Ikehara, a four year varsity player and one of the top point guards in California according to Lapham. In order to fill these open spots, Lapham will have to put his trust in younger, less experienced players.
“We are really hoping to have another great season, but we will have to make some real progress to get back to the CIF title game again,” Lapham said.
Costa will have only three returning varsity players: juniors Allie Navarette, Halle Maeda, and Laura Sheckter. Maeda is a quick player who will do her best to fill Ikehara’s spot at point guard. Navarette, the team’s best scorer, will bring intensity and a very consistent three point shot. As a mobile forward, Sheckter will continue her dominance on the boards and in the paint.
“Those three players all contributed a lot last season,” Lapham said. “We will definitely rely on them for the coming season too.”
The rest of the team will be made up of inexperienced, but skillful players. Guards sophomore Haley Herdman, sophomore Kelli Toyooka, and sophomore Kira Escovar are expected to contribute a large number of points and assists. The team will also look to junior Mia Finney, junior Lauren Matoska, and seniors Parker Cunningham, and Jalyn Riggs for rebound support.
“I think we have a lot of talent this year,” Lapham said. “We will just have to work through our inexperience as the season progresses.”
This offseason, Lapham elected to change the Mustang’s offense to better fit the new players. His plan is simply to increase motion. The team has been practicing setting off-ball screens in order to get more players active and moving. Lapham also aims to take advantage of fast-break opportunities to score more points in transition.
“We are changing our offense to try to get more motion from all five players, and to push the ball down the court as quickly as possible,” Lapham said.
On defense, Costa will keep the same plan of attack as last year. The team will likely switch between man and zone coverage frequently to surprise the offense. When needed, the girls will use a full court press.
“We’ve shown some good progress already, and I think by February we will be ready to make another deep run in CIF playoffs,” Lapham said.
So far in preseason play Costa is 2-2. However, it is still too early in the season to tell the trajectory of the team. One thing is for certain, the Mustangs will have to rely on their fundamentals if they hope to be successful.