Girls’ basketball aims higher this season

Samo shoots against El Segundo High School on Nov. 17.

Last year, Samo girls’ Varsity basketball made it to the first round of the CIF playoffs, losing by a score of 32-34. Finishing their season with a league record of 6-4 and an overall record of 11-15, they finished third in the Ocean League. Head Coach Lance Radford reflected on the successes of last season.

“Last season was a giant leap from the first year when I took first over,” Radford said. “We had a lot of senior leadership that took hold and we had a lot of senior leaders. Coming up short at a last-second shot against the number one team in the division in the playoffs, we fought to the very end, so we want to build on that and get even further this time.”

With the loss of eight senior players, the team has focused on recruiting efforts. One new addition to the varsity team, Francesca Ostoia (’28), shared her goals for her first varsity season.

“My hopes for my first varsity season are to prove to myself that I belong here and to make every game better than the last,” Ostoia said.

The entire team is motivated and ready to make this the best season yet. Coach Radford went over some of the team’s goals.

“To improve every game,” Radford said. “Right now, our seniors are going to lead this team and so they are going to be the ones that are going to have to take control. We want to get further in the playoffs, making the playoffs is not going to be good enough, we want to make a deep run in the playoffs, so it’s going to start with the seniors.”

The team started their season with their first match against El Segundo, which they won 42-29. Their current record is 3-5. After the game, Olivia Duarte (’26), shared her thoughts for the team this season, bolstered by the success of their first game.

“It is a really big turnaround year for us, I think my goals for us this season as a team is just to play well together, play our game. I think today was a good start. I think we still have a lot of room to grow, but I feel like it is going to be a good season,” Duarte said.

The team’s next game is on Dec. 11 against Trinity Classical Academy.