Sage Hill’s Girls’ Varsity Basketball team will play their first tournament of the season on Nov. 21 against Harvard-Westlake, aiming for a repeat trip to the State Championships after faltering in the playoffs last year.
The graduating class of 2024 including Aurora Elder, Zoie Lamkin, Katherine Righeimer, Annabelle Spotts, and Emily Eadie (named Girls’ Basketball Dream Team Player of the Year by The Daily Pilot) made up 50 percent of the team. As those players have now graduated from Sage Hill, the Girls’ Basketball team is “rebuilding,” Junior Alyssa Cuff said.
“My goal and hope for the season is to win a state championship, but I really just want to bond with the girls and have a good time,” she said
Under the guidance of Head Coach Kerwin Walters, Girls’ Basketball prepares for the upcoming season. Cuff described their rigorous practice regime.
“We have a one hour weight room every single day and 1.5 to 2 hours of practice, so almost 3 hours a day on average.”
Their current main focus is conditioning and weight training.
“We really have been trying to put in the work,” Alyssa said.
Walters indicated that the team has been practicing “non-stop” since the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Specifically, the girls are refining their offensive strategy and working on assessing their opponents.
“We want to be a team that actually can run complicated offenses and that can put defenses in compromising positions to take advantage and do what we need to do,” Walters said. “I think we’ll be very good at that.”
Despite losing eight valuable seniors, Girls’ Basketball has a promising roster.
“The freshman class is really good. They are really, really exciting,” Walters said with a smile.
He specifically highlighted two impressive freshmen Eve Fowler and Addi Uphoff, and a number of returning players who make up the strong core of the team including Amelia Holguin, Alyssa Cuff, and Kamdyn Klamberg. Additionally, Isabella Rose, a senior transfer to Sage Hill, is expected to make a great contribution to the team.
“I think we’re gonna have a really good blend of youth and experience. Obviously, we were a senior heavy team last year, but I think our juniors are stepping up. And our sophomores that are returning, are also going to step up to the plate,” Walters said.
Team bonding is also a clear goal. Alyssa described her desire to connect with the team and get to know the new players, both underclassmen and upperclassmen. In her junior season, she expects to take on more of a leadership role and impart her experience and knowledge to benefit the team collectively.
With a strong foundation and dedicated practice, Walters believes the team will fare well this season, even as they face a very tough schedule.
“This season, I hope for us to be one of the top eight teams in the Southern California region and the state. Of course, our goal is to be considered one of the top ranked teams in the state and arguably the country. We always are pushing to be one of the top teams on that national stage,” Walters said.
