The girls’ varsity basketball team ended the regular season with an undefeated 26-0 record and an 11-0 record in league play, earning the team’s first-ever De Anza league title and setting a new school record. “It wasn’t what we expected, but we are really happy,” senior guard Rimona Cartun said.

In the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, the girls beat Mills in the Division II quarterfinals on Feb. 24 with a 68-34 win and swept Presentation 46-35 in the semifinals on March 3. They faced their first loss of the year in the finals against Archbishop Mitty on March 6, losing 40-56 as Mitty clinched the CCS title. Despite their loss, the Titans advanced to the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state basketball championships as the No. 5 seed. They beat fourth seeded Pleasant Valley with a 59-32 win on March 10, and moved on to the semifinals where they fell to No. 1 seeded Oak Ridge, 39-49.

According to head coach Sarah Stapp, some of the most intense games during the season were those against Wilcox, the only team the Titans lost to last season.

“We had more confidence that we could actually beat them,” senior captain Jasmine Evans said. “Last year we definitely were a lot more scared and we didn’t believe in our offense or our defense. This year it was completely the opposite.” The Lady Titans defeated the Chargers in two games with final scores of 51-44 and 43-35, respectively.

The CCS semifinal against Presentation was, according to Stapp, a key victory.

The team won three tournaments: the KSA Classic in Orlando, Florida, as well as the Burlingame and Pinewood Tournaments.

Stapp believes that one of the team’s strongest assets this year was the bond between team members. “Our team chemistry is one of the major factors of our success this season,” she wrote in an email message. “It is why we do what we do.”

“We don’t put pressure on each other; there is no competition between us,” senior forward Taylor McAdam said.

According to Evans, experience helped the Titans. “We’ve gotten a lot older, and we’re more experienced with what we’re supposed to be doing on the court,”

Evans also said the team’s greatest strength is its defense. “We don’t have any tall people on our team, [but] we are really fast and really quick,” Evans said. “All of our energy on defense has helped us for each win.”

Some of the highlights were beating Wilcox and “doing things as a team,” according to Evans. “We had so many great moments it’s hard to pick one,” she said.