Although the girls? varsity basketball team competed with only seven players, they seized first place at the Fall Jamboree title hosted by Fresno City College on Sept. 29.

In preparation for the upcoming season, coach Josh Tosland scheduled extra optional summer practices to improve fundamentals.

?These girls have been putting in some time every day to get better,? Tosland said, ?and this tournament was the first chance to play someone other than the JV team.?

Junior Larrisa Hensley, point guard, led the Eagles offense in scoring with 46 points throughout the entire tournament.

?It was hard not having our whole team there,? Hensley said, ?but overall we played well.?

Last March, the team progressed to the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs, but lost to Pacific Hills in Hollywood on March 8.

?The seniors (Bonnie Hansen, Annie Hawkins and Kelsey Marston) were all posts and now we only have two new post players, ? guard Tatiana Fontes, ?10, said. ?They were key defenders and now we have to fill their shoes.?

In the Jamboree, Fontes learned how to play post. Tosland expects her to rise up to the intensity the seniors possessed last year.

?Tatiana was so tough under the basket,? Tosland said. ?I was very happy with our progress with what we are trying to do. This was our first chance to try out some new things in a game like venue. We ran the floor well and represented our school with pride.?

Katie White, ?09, made four 3-pointers throughout the weekend tournament.

?The posts stepped up on rebounding,? White said. ?They are really picking up where the seniors left off.?

With the others seniors participating in fall sports, senior Micaelah Aleman led her younger peers as the only senior leader at the tournament.

?We wouldn?t have done as well last year, if they didn?t get the 40+ rebounds a game,? Aleman said. ?We have to work our new posts hard to make up for those we lost. They are really rising up to their full potential.?

The team dominated all three of their games. They beat Chowchilla (52-38), and Division I schools, Clovis High (50-34) and Buchanan (59-20).

?The girls are on fire,? Fatima Costa, ’11, said. ?Both the junior high volleyball team and the basketball girls last weekend really represent our school well.?

Both on and off the court, the girls? carry their relationships with on another into their daily lives.

?We are all friends,? Hensley said. ?We all hang around at school, not just in practices.?

Instead of finding satisfaction with their current state, White believes there is always room for improvement.

?We aren?t patient,? White said. ?The rebounds are getting better, but when we get the ball we get rid of it right away instead of holding and looking to see where the defense is.?

The team practices Mon.-Fri. and lifts weight on both Tues. and Thurs. Each player is expected to keep a shooting log and perform dribbling drills on their own to better their performance.

The team will not participate in any more tournaments before the start of the winter season.