Mission Oak, Monache, Farmersville win league girls basketball championships
"Built a tradition, creating a legacy."
The Mission Oak High School girls' basketball program had T-shirts made with that mantra printed on them this season.
The Hawks, a perennial Tulare County power, clinched at least a share of the 2024 West Yosemite League championship on Feb. 7 after beating Hanford 75-41 at Richard Torrez Jr. Gymnasium.
Mission Oak (20-8, 8-1) has now won back-to-back WYL titles and posted its 20th victory of the season.
Under longtime head coach Dave Caetano, the Hawks have registered six 20-plus win campaigns since the 2014-15 season.
"The fact that we have been able to sustain 20-win seasons in the last eight, nine, 10 years, we've had more 20-win seasons than we haven't, I think it's several things," Caetano said. "I have a great coaching staff. It's a high level of consistency because it's the same coaching, which has been in place for several years now, and we finally have an influx of players. The future's very bright."
This season's team is anchored by a senior class that has been together since their freshmen year. Isabella Zepeda, Sierra Calantas, Jaelyn Flores, Katelyn Scheiner and Alora Thomas form the nucleus of the Hawks.
Zepeda exploded for 28 points in the Hanford win and Calantas added 20 points. Those two lead the team in scoring, averaging nearly 12 points per game this season.
"We have a great deal of leadership," Caetano said. "Isabella and Sierra are the corps. The rest of them are just rock-solid people, high-character people. I have zero problems on the team in terms of discipline and respect and all that stuff. It's just a great group of kids to be around."
Mission Oak's 75 points in the Hanford victory marked a season-high for the Hawks this season. They avenged an earlier 61-54 loss to the Bullpups by beating them by 34 points in the second go-around. Both teams entered the rematch with identical 7-1 league marks.
How did Mission Oak take control of the league standings?
"We played a great game," Caetano said. "We played our most complete game of the year, throughout the course of the year. I think some of them started realizing that the stuff we tell them is, we told them they could do it, and they finally did. They did it against a quality opponent. There were just a lot of good things that came out."
Interest in Mission Oak girls basketball has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Program-wide, Caetano kept 37 total combined players from its freshmen, junior varsity and varsity rosters. Of those 37 athletes, 17 are freshmen, including two on varsity in Aiyana Murray and Kaecyn Henderson.
This season's senior class has also guided the youngsters.
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"They're the perfect role models to be leaders for that corps of freshmen," Caetano said. "They're picking up what they need to do and they'll carry that forward when these guys leave."
Mission Oak will likely be slotted in the Central Section Division II playoffs this season. Last year, as the seventh seed, the Hawks advanced to the section's Division II semifinal round before falling 58-43 to eventual champion Liberty-Bakersfield.
Can the Hawks make another deep postseason run?
"I think we're just peaking at the right time," Caetano said.
Monache captures outright East Yosemite League title
Monache was the class of the East Yosemite League this season.
The Marauders (27-2, 10-0) rolled in league play en route to an undefeated 2024 East Yosemite League championship. They have now won back-to-back conference titles.
During league play this season, Monache outscored their conference opponents a combined 638-274, while averaging nearly 64 points per game.
How has Monache been so successful this season?
"I think just staying consistent," Marauders head coach Jonathon Bartlet said. "Keeping the kids in the gym, just believing in the process, 'You have to be in the gym.' We make the gym available to the kids pretty much any time they want except for Sundays because the school doesn't allow us to open the gym on Sundays. If kids want to get in the gym, we find a way to open the gym."
Monache doesn't just want to be the best program in Tulare County. The Marauders's goal is to be one of the best teams in the Central Section.
Need proof?
Take a look at their schedule.
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Monache has five wins this season against five different Central Section Division I-based programs:
Bakersfield
Buchanan
Righetti
Central
San Joaquin Memorial
"We'll play anybody," Bartlett said. "That’s one thing we worked on this year as a coaching staff was to book the best teams that we can get."
Monache is anchored by reigning senior Alisha Verdejo — the EYL's reigning most valuable player. She is averaging 9.3 points per game this season.
Verdejo is just one of two seniors on the team this year.
"She's been around," Barlett said. "She plays in the summer. She plays against some of the best competition in the country. Bringing that to the high school level really helps. It gives her the experience to really show the young kids. She's doing well for us this year. I'm happy for her."
Verdejo leads a unit that includes five impact sophomore players in Milly Rojas (12.5 points per game), Shelley Andrade (11 ppg), Kyah Bartlett (10 ppg), London Haynes (9.5 ppg) and Jalissa Miranda (4.2 ppg).
Those five sophomores have been playing together since the third grade.
That type of continuity is a big reason why Monache has a goal of winning a Central Section Division II championship.
Since the arrival of Monache's sophomore class, the Marauders have gone a combined 53-6, including a 19-1 mark in EYL play.
"I think they changed the culture at Monache High School for girls basketball," Barlett said. "You got five really, really good kids. They're the youngest kids but they embrace everybody. They don’t walk around like they're better than anybody. They're really just good kids. You can't say anything bad about them."
Farmersville claims back-to-back East Sequoia League crowns
Farmersville repeated as East Sequoia League-Redwood champions this season.
The Aztecs (20-7, 7-1) cruised to back-to-back league championships with a 7-1 mark. They won last year's conference title with an 8-0 record.
Farmersville was carried this season by star players Janessa Garza and Jazmaine Stewart.
Garza and Stewart both surpassed 1,000 career points in January.
Stewart is one of the top scorers in the section as a sophomore, averaging 23.5 points per game. Garza averages nearly 15 points per game.
Stewart scored 32 points in Farmersville's season finale on Feb. 8, leading the Aztecs to a 61-20 win over Wonderful College Prep.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Mission Oak, Monache, Farmington win girls basketball championships
