Sports

Varsity basketball plays in SLO

Lauren Zerella, Sports Editor • December 12, 2023

Freshman Sammy Kakala dribbles up the court.

The first weekend of December found the NDB Varsity Basketball team attending the Mullahey Holiday Classic tournament in San Luis Obispo. The Tigers had been training throughout November for this event and were excited for the opportunity to compete against players from schools they do not normally play, as they were the only school from the WBAL attending.

“I’m pretty excited,” said sophomore Julianna Loar, a first-year varsity player. “It’s my first time going, so I’m looking forward to it. I know we’re gonna get a nice tour of [Cal Poly] as well.”

The team began the tournament with a game against Taft HS on November 30, starting out strong with a 43-20 win. The next day, they played Santa Maria HS who beat them 30-27. NDB concluded the tournament by beating East Bakersfield HS on Saturday. With a final score of 69-30, the Tigers were ready to return to NDB after a long weekend of games.

Aside from the benefit of being able to play together before the regular season began, the Tigers also used their time in SLO as an opportunity to bond as a team. This included visiting a local university as well as participating in an escape room.

“We went and visited Cal Poly, which was really, really cool. I think that was a cool experience. And then we went and did an escape room, which was also very fun,” said junior Sophia Dehaaf. “We kind of just hung out, did a lot of team bonding.”

The team made sure that they spent their time away from NDB efficiently, both on and off the court, as they got to know each other’s playing styles better along with becoming more familiar as teammates.

“It’s still pretty early in our season, so a lot of the preparing we’re doing is still kind of the basics to our team philosophy,” said Coach Sam Rossi. “So, a lot of defense to make sure that we’re ready to go. Offensively working both on man and zone, depending on what teams will do, how they’ll defend [against] us.”

The Tigers ended the tournament with a 2-1 record and returned to NDB on Saturday as a more confident and better prepared team.

About the Contributors

Lauren Zerella, Managing Editor

Lauren Zerella is a senior at NDB and is the Managing Editor for The Catalyst. She has been a member of the Journalism Club since her freshman year and is excited to strengthen her writing skills and learn more about Journalism throughout this school year. Lauren participates on the NDB cross country, track and field and soccer teams along with being a member of the National Honor Society Board. Outside of school, she enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.

Mikayla Cary, Staff Writer

Mika Cary is a freshman at NDB. She is in her first year working in the NDB journalism class. She is a Staff Writer for The Catalyst. Cary is excited to write her first few article sand she can't wait to learn all about how to write and assemble a newspaper. Cary wants to play basketball for NDB in the winter. She plays basketball and dances outside of school as well. Other activities Cary likes to do in her free time include playing with her dogs, shopping, hanging out with friends and listening to music.