The girls’ basketball team is rolling over teams that dominated them in past years, starting their season off strong with an overall record of 8-5.
Last week the Cavs defeated the Wilton Christian Patriots 51-33—they lost to the same team 29-56 the year before.
With 20.6 points and 4.8 blocks per game, senior Mary-Clare Bosco leads the team.
But she’s not doing it alone.
New additions, such as sophomore Isabella Tochterman and junior Alexa Griggs, bring experience, coach Matt Vargo said.
Bosco agrees.
Tochterman recently returned from Christian Brothers after playing as a point guard on their freshman team for a season and now brings the ball up for the Cavaliers.
“Our team dynamic has changed so that we can play as a team—not as individual players,” Bosco said.
Bosco sees this as a great advantage.
“(Last year) I had to bring the ball, drop it off and post up,” Bosco said. “With Isabella bringing the ball up, I don’t have to do everything.”
Last year Bosco averaged 20 of the team’s 28 points per game.
But this year she has backup.
Sophomore guard Tochterman averages 11.5 points and 3.7 assists per game, and, according to Vargo, has been key to the Cavs’ success.
“We have only eight people, so everybody has to contribute so we can be successful,” he said.
Players like senior Alison Walter—and freshmen Julia Owaidat, Emily Berke and Saachi Sikaria—add quickness and competitiveness to the team, Vargo said.
On Thursday, January 24, the Cavs will face off against the Buckingham Knights, whom they beat 49-34 on Jan.4.
The Cavs’ eight wins are more than any season since the 05-06 season, and they are only halfway through league play.
But the girls still have room to improve.
The team’s in-league record is 3-2 with wins against Valley Christian, Sacramento Adventist and Buckingham Charter; the losses are against Lutheran and Valley Christian.
The 43-47 loss to the Lutheran Panthers on Jan. 11 was a shock to many players.
“We had the lead the whole game, but we just got tired and let it get away from us in the end,” Bosco said.
“We had just played a tough game against Valley the night before, and we were all pretty whipped.”
The game came down to the last few possessions, when the Cavs could not get out to the perimeter and let Lutheran get two 3-pointers in a row.
Both losses against Lutheran and Valley were by a margin of four points.
“I think we can beat Lutheran if we are well rested and ready to play,” Tochterman said.
“I don’t want to be negative but it’s going to be really hard to beat Valley, but it could be done.”
With six games left, the Cavs will keep fighting in hopes to reach the playoffs, a feat that Vargo has not seen in his 11 years as athletic director.
“We need to work on reducing our turnovers,” Vargo said.
“We need to focus more so that we can make better decisions, and when we make good decisions, we need to execute better.”
“I love being part of such a hardworking group of girls,” Griggs said.
“We really mesh on the court, and if we keep playing like this we could go far in the postseason.”
