Girls’ varsity basketball wrapped up their season with a 61-47 loss to Los Aptos in the CCS semifinals game on February 28.

“We played our hearts out, no matter the score,” senior guard Chloe Fung said.

Although the team’s original strategy was to give up three pointers and focus on contesting layups and shots inside the three point line, it had to change its defense due to the amount of shots Aptos High was making. Nevertheless, the Mariners kept scoring.

“We played our game and never gave up,” junior guard Hanna Zahabi said. “We were fighting until the end of the fourth quarter.”

Coach Danny Wallace said that he was proud of how the girls followed his game plan and executed well both on offense and defense.

“We were very attuned on getting the ball to everybody”, Wallace said. He attributed their progress through CCS brackets to how they played as “a team and did not look at individualism.”

The Falcons won the quarterfinals game on Feb. 24 against Seaside High 43-41. It was a tough battle until the end, as many of the Spartans’ were more than 6 feet tall and could easily shoot over Saratoga’s shorter players. Zahabi said that the team played smartly in order to win.

The team experienced success in the El Camino League this season, finishing 11-1 and tying for first place in the league with Lynbrook High.

Fung said that her most memorable game was the game against Lynbrook, because it was important in their fight to become league champions.

“We pushed through and were resilient to get the win,” she said.

Even though the team experienced numerous setbacks due to injuries and illnesses throughout the season, it was able to grow due to people stepping up to fill different roles.

“Our biggest growth this year was how we played like a team,” Wallace said. “I don't think there was much selfish ball.”

In the off-season, the players will continue to improve through club basketball, open gyms, summer league, and 4-on-1s.

“As long as our girls keep on playing and working on their game and putting time and effort in, we’re going to get better,” Wallace said.

He said that his goal each year is to bring the team together and make it the strongest unit it can be. He will try to prepare the girls to give them a shot at winning CCS next year.

“Since our team is really young, I hope that next year we can continue the momentum we had towards the end of the season,” Zahabi said.

Although the season is over, the team is still very close, having bonded through memories, hard work, and success.

“They played all 27 games amazingly. They left everything out on that court for me and that's all a coach can ask for,” Wallace said. “What they've accomplished is extremely impressive, and they earned every single accomplishment.”