Mt. Whitney girls basketball enjoys breakout season under new coach Louie Perez

It's been two decades since Mt. Whitney High School girls' basketball has had a winning season.

According to Central Section historian Bob Barnett, 2003 was the last time the Pioneers posted a campaign with a record above .500.

That season, under then-head coach Dan Alfano, Mt. Whitney finished with an overall mark of 20-8.

Since the 2013-14 run, the Pioneers have suffered eight straight seasons of single-digit win campaigns. There was even a stretch where Mt. Whitney won one game during the 2018-19 season.

However, Mt. Whitney appears to have turned the corner under new head coach Louie Perez — a veteran coach within the Tulare County coaching community who guided Redwood to some of its best seasons in the 2000s, including a 28-win season and an undefeated West Yosemite League championship in 2005.

More: Fan's choice: Vote for the 2024 Tulare County girls basketball player of the year

With Perez calling the shots along with assistants Billy Lucero and Erykah Washington, a former player, Mt. Whitney wrapped up non-league play with a 10-6 record — the program's first double-digit win season in 10 years. The Pioneers went 11-13 during their 2013-14 campaign.

How have Perez and his coaching staff been able to flip the Pioneers' culture?

“A lot of times, change is tough, but they did buy into it, into our philosophy, and that was the main thing,” Perez said. “Buying into it and just competing. I told them, ‘Don’t even look at the scoreboard. Just compete.’ And that’s been the main thing, just to compete. There’s been times now, a couple of times this year, I could see we were kind of getting behind, and you could see the girls, they just kept competing, working hard.”

Chemistry

Perez’s old-school approach — hustle, hard work and tough love — worked during his highly successful run with Redwood.

One of his best squads was the 2004-05 squad, featuring then-standouts Kari Camarillo and Courtney Collishaw. That team went 28-3 and fell 60-57 to Edison in the Central Section championship game.

Perez has brought that type of coaching style with him to Mt. Whitney.

Under his leadership, the Pioneers tipped off this season with a 9-3 record.

That strong start was the result of Perez’s family-like atmosphere, which embraces relationships between players on and off the court.

“My biggest thing, and I know it’s different from a lot of philosophies, is I think chemistry is huge, especially in girls,” Perez said. “I think if the girls get along and the chemistry is good, everything else kind of takes care of itself after that. I really believe in the chemistry of the team, and us believing in them and them believing in us as coaches to get them there.”

Mt. Whitney went a combined 36-153 from 2014 to last season, averaging 4.5 wins per season.

During that same stretch, the Pioneers posted eight seasons of at least 17 losses or more, including two 20-plus loss campaigns.

Opposing teams used to walk into Charles Marshall Court expecting to win.

That is something Perez hopes to change.

“My biggest thing is, I tell this to the girls is, ‘When coaches look at us and they see Whitney, they just bypass us. I don’t want that,’ ” Perez said. “I want them to say, ‘We better be ready for Mt. Whitney because they’re going to be difficult to match-up with.' ”

Baller alert: Tulare County Milestones: Banuelos, Torres and Garza join 1,000-point club

Perez’s philosophy and vision have rubbed off on players, especially for senior Laneyha Thomas.

“It’s been very different,” Thomas said. “I feel like since Perez has been here, we’ve grown as a team. I feel like we’ve gotten better as a team, and team-bonding-wise.

“I feel like we each have individual things that we’ve worked on but it’s definitely been the team bonding. That’s helped more than anything because last year, we didn’t really have the chemistry that we have now.”

Thomas’ teammate Dolores Carter agreed.

“He definitely pushes us to our limits but, you know, but the reward afterward, it’s definitely worth it,” Carter said. “It’s because he knows we can do it.”

Family

Mt. Whitney’s success this season starts with Perez’s approach to basketball, which emphasizes team chemistry.

Perez stresses team-bonding activities, which can extend from team dinners, hanging out and enjoying each other’s company as a collective or going to the movies.

Even at practice, chemistry is a priority.

That kind of atmosphere has set the Pioneers up for success.

With its 10 wins, Mt. Whitney has already met the section’s criteria for postseason play, which is something the Pioneers’ senior class has yet to experience during their time at the Visalia high school.

“I’m really excited,” Mt. Whitney senior Rashelle Versteeg said. “This is my first year that we’ve been eligible to play in the playoffs so I’m really excited. Hopefully, we go.”

Mt. Whitney’s commitment and dedication to basketball started in the summer with workouts designed by Perez.

“With him, we’re all one team,” Carter said. “It’s definitely been a good experience for all of us. Just winning, it feels amazing. We’ve all worked so hard to get here and now that we’re getting rewarded, it’s great.”

Despite the Pioneers’ 10-6 start, they tipped off East Yosemite League play with losses to Porterville, Golden West and El Diamante.

Perez has had to shuffle his lineup due to the departure of senior impact player and leader Crystal Garcia — who graduated early after the fall semester to enroll at College of the Sequoias.

It was a decision Garcia made before the 2023-24 school year but Garcia has returned to Mt. Whitney as a volunteer to help run the scoreboard and stats.

“It makes me feel happy because they say that they wish I didn’t graduate early,” Garcia said. “And it just makes me feel very sad and happy at the same time that I had an impact on them.”

Perez and this year’s Pioneers have also left a lasting impression on Garcia, too.

“His style is very good because he has a certain way he coaches us,” Garcia said. “Just the way, like, he acts with us, I feel that made us have a very good bond with him and the other coaches. We’ve built a very good bond with them. I feel like that has really helped us. They make it feel very safe. I don’t go to this school anymore but they all go to the same school. When we used to see each other in the halls, we were always messing around and talking to each other, and just that in general, just the way we can talk on and off the court is just like a plus. You’re family, basically.”

Perez had high praise for Garcia.

"She doesn't have to be here and she comes to our practices," Perez said. "She's almost like an assistant coach now. We're going to miss her."

Mt. Whitney has put together four- and five-game winning streaks this season and will likely continue to grow under Perez with a 13-player roster consisting of six sophomores.

The Pioneers have also already surpassed last season's win total of four.

"Compared to years past, they've accomplished a lot," Perez said. "They should be proud of that."

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Mt. Whitney enjoys breakout season under new coach Louie Perez