On any team, it is incredibly important to have close relationships with your teammates. For the Newport Harbor’s Girl’s Varsity basketball team, their closeness helped them achieve their goals. By being such a close team, the girls were able to celebrate their many victories and move on and learn from their losses. On and off the court, these girl’s friendship with each other impacted the program.

During season, the girls’ closeness with each other helped them acquire eight wins in league. They achieved this awesome feat through a combination of mad skill, speed, and communication. As well as all this, forming solid friendships with each other helps keep the energy and excitement up during a game, and positive thinking can make a difference in the resulting score. Sophomore Hannah Hiromoto says, “being friends with everyone helps because you can always be there for each other.” Supporting each other throughout the season helped them play better on the court because knowing that your teammate has your back allows you to focus in the moment in the game that matters.
For the second year, the girls’ varsity team has been able so have an athletic set of sisters, sophomore Alexia and senior Angelina Alvarez, whose bond as siblings helps the team on the court. “The whole team has a good connection,” says Hiromoto, but “it’s the bond that they already have as sisters that makes it even better.” For many people, being on a team is like being a part of a second family, but for these sisters, playing together is just another opportunity to bond with each other while playing the sport that they love. At the senior night game on February 6th, Alexia Alvarez had an open court and the perfect opportunity for a layup, however she passed the ball back to her sister who was running up behind her so she had the opportunity to make the shot in one of her last games at Harbor. In the end, the girls won that game against Fountain Valley 40-34 because of their teamwork!
The team’s wins are examples of how although there is a pair of sisters on the team, every player is family with each other, and they want to help each other enjoy the game while getting better. As a team, but equally importantly as friends, the girls grew close together and had a fun season and the non-seniors can’t wait for next year.
Written By: Delaney Knipp