Young Lady Trojans developed into a strong team
After several years of winning Section 3-A, the California girls basketball team ended the season second in the section last year, finishing 12-2 in section play and 14-8 overall and dropping its first round playoff game.
For a young team, which started mostly sophomores and juniors, head coach Chris Minerd said he was happy with how his young players developed and how that will transition into this season.
“I think the experience that some of the players got last year will hopefully help us going into this season,” said Minerd, who is in his seventh year as California’s head coach.
The Lady Trojans graduated only two players, neither of whom started consistently for the team. Minerd said 5-10 forward Destiny Gudel was a spot starter, while 5-10 guard Chyanne Wolpink was one of the first girls off the bench.
“Both of those players, their main roles were leadership positions,” Minerd said. “They kind of led by example. They were always good teammates. That’s the area where they’ll be missed the most.”
The Lady Trojans’ top player is returning this season, as 5-8 junior guard/forward Bailey Vig looks to make the all-section team again.
Senior Jenna Miller will transition to playing shooting guard rather than her normal spot of point guard.
“Over the past few years, she’s been our point guard, so she hasn’t been relied upon to score as much,” Minerd said. “But now her role has changed where we hope she takes a bigger role in scoring for us.”
The other player Minerd knows will be in the starting five is junior guard/forward Marissa Bitonti. The other two spots will be filled by senior forward Dominique Gaston, who started last season, junior guard Love’ Porter and junior guard Grace Roberts.
Minerd hopes Porter and Roberts take increased roles this season as juniors.
“Last year, they saw their first significant time on varsity, so I’m hoping that experience from last year helps them this year where they see their roles increase even more,” Minerd said.
Despite only having two seniors on this year’s squad, Minerd wants his team to play like an experienced team.
“I expect them to play and not make as many mistakes as they have in the past couple years,” Minerd said. “Being able to make some deep playoff runs the past couple years, we’ve played more games than your average team, and I hope that carries over into this year.”
California’s height is something Minerd noted could be a weakness for his team, as most of his team is around 5-8.
“All my girls are about the same size; the one thing we don’t have is height,” Minerd said. “All of our girls are 5-8, so they have to be able to play any of the positions. We don’t have a defined center, but we have girls who play guard and forward.”
Minerd said his team is making up for its lack of height with unselfish play.
“They seem like they’re willing to go do what it takes just for the team to win,” Minerd said. “We’re not necessarily worried about individual accomplishments, and that’s always a good thing when you have that.”
The Lady Trojans are in a different mentality this season, Minerd said, moving up to Section 3-AA. Rather than just competing with Jefferson-Morgan last season, the Lady Trojans will have several new teams to contend with, including Greensburg Central Catholic and Serra Catholic, who Minerd said are likely the top two teams in the section.
“We have a tough section. In the past couple years, we may have been the favorites to win the section, and this year, that’s not the case,” Minerd said. “We’re back in that hunter role, and not necessarily the hunted.”
The Lady Trojans begin their season at home against Washington on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m.