Lady Raiders, under the guidance of former 17-year men’s basketball coach Remy McCarthy eye a deep run in the state playoffs this year..
After the Lady Raiders last seaons first round state playoff exit against Cypress College
This season the Lady Raiders welcome the return of sophomore guard Ashley Ontiveros. Ontiveros had a stellar freshman campaign earning first team all conference honors, and led the team in three-point shooting.
Ontiveros received “individual attention last year defensively; I don’t anticipate that changing,” stated coach McCarthy when talking about what Ontiveros means to the team.
Coach McCarthy expects Ontiveros to have another breakout season like she did last year and looking forward to the return of Lindsay Neuner, a sophomore guard as well.
Neuner was on pace to be an All Conference player as well before she injured her knee last season but her teammates and coaches are anxious for her return to action.
“She’s back playing better than she was before she got injured and she clearly is somebody who can be a force for us no question.” explained Coach McCarthy on Neuner’s progress this offseason.
Just like their male counterparts the Lady Raiders have been practicing for months against one another to get better as a team and Coach McCarthy had similar sentiments as Coach Link when it came to what the team is looking forward to this season.
Coach McCarthy explains that the team is tired of beating up on each other and is looking forward to, “playing somebody else.”
The Lady Raiders primary goal is to win their conference this season and improve on their progress from last season. The only way to do that is to get better each and every day.
“We have tried to make our goals as simple as we just try to get better every day,” Coach McCarthy said. “We feel like we have enough ability to compete with anybody.”
Coach McCarthy seems very confident with the Lady Raiders’ ability to compete and win this season but does think that there are two keys to their success this season.
“In order, taking care of the ball and playing exceptional defense…good defense gets you beat,” explained Coach McCarthy.
Coach McCarthy believes that playing good defense will not cut it and the team is going to have to play exceptional defense to make sure his team does not get outscored.
Taking care of the ball is an important aspect of basketball because the goal is to outscore your opponent. If a team does not let their opposition have the ball by turning the ball over and taking care of the ball then they cannot be outscored.
“It’s hard to defend people when you’re throwing them the ball, that’s why I think they go hand in hand,” Coach McCarthy explains. “You can’t play great defense and then throw the ball away.”
If you want to catch the Lady Raiders in action they have their first tournament starting November 14, at Santa Barbara Community College and their first league game on January 7, 2015 at Allan Hancock College.
