On Monday evening November 13, 2023, Lady Saints Basketball officially started their 23-24’ season. Their season-opening game was against Rancho Verde High School in the Upland Kickoff Classic. The Lady Saints are coming off a 22-6 record last season and a Junior class-stacked team. On the contrary, the Mustangs are coming off a 9-19 record last year, also with a Junior class-stacked team. To add on, the Saints gained 2 new transfers this year, Makenzie McMillin (11) and Kamora Fletcher (11), and although McMillin can’t play due to the 30-day sit rule, she brings the energy needed to give momentum and push the girls to win. Given the statistics and the 2 transfers, San Dimas should start their season off with a win.
“I think we’re gonna [sic] do pretty good and we’re going to win. I think we’re still trying to figure out who has the best chemistry with each other but I think we’ll figure that out tonight.” says Olivia Romero (12) and Janessa Rodriguez (12).
The girls started out the game strong and with good energy and had a 26-0 lead till sometime in the second quarter. “I’m feeling excited and ready to go. If the real Lady Saints show up today we should most definitely win, we’re a talented team so hopefully we all show up, ready to play, and we’ll be alright.” Head Coach Gary Jackson says.
The game’s overall energy had lots of ups and downs but the Lady Saints still managed to push through. McMillin brought the majority of the energy to the bench and motivated the girls to keep up the energy and talk on the court. The top scorers were Kamora Fletcher (11) with 14, Priscilla Romero (11) and O. Romero with 9, Jaelyn Ramos (11) with 8, and J. Rodriguez also with 8. This game marks the first game in Division 1 the Lady Saints have played. A lot of the girls are excited yet nervous that they’re now D1. “Since the open division schools got moved up to D1, it’s going to be harder but I think as long as we really focus this year, we’ll be good.” says McMillin. Although the season is going to be tougher, the girls will most definitely push themselves to their best and they are expected to get far this season despite the challenges.
“I’m very proud of how far we’ve come and I think we’re leaving the program in good shape for its future players.” says Claudia Hirezi (12). The seniors this year started off their high school career being division 3A and now are finishing it off being D1. That is a huge accomplishment given that they basically moved up one division each year they’ve attended San Dimas High School. “I’m very proud of us as a team to be able to make that jump and I think it shows how much we’ve all been really dedicated to this team and sport.” explains J. Rodriguez.
All the girls contributed a lot to the win against Rancho Verde given everyone has their own special skill they bring to the team. “I think Kamora was our high scorer yesterday with a double double which is amazing for her first real game with us, and as a team, we’re hard to stop because if one person gets stopped, there’s always another girl that can score.” Assistant Coach Denise Llorens states. The final score of the game was 67-20, which the Lady Saints took the win as expected. “Always pleased to get a win, I thought we started off quick and with intensity but once we figured out that the other team wasn’t at the same level as us, we relaxed a bit because we knew we could beat them.” Llorens explains after the game. The Lady Saints showed up that night and got a lot of comments from fans about how good they look and that they’re definitely going far. The Lady Saints have a bright and exciting future ahead of them for this season.
