Selma High Girls’ Basketball: End of The Season

On Tuesday, February 14, Selma High’s Girl’s varsity basketball lost their first CIF playoff game against Cabrillo with a final score of 45-37, thus ending their season.
“Sadly we lost but we played hard,” said junior Chantel Rodriguez
Rodriguez is the basketball team captain. She plays center and through the season she has grown and developed.
“There would be times where my shots wouldn’t fall in. That’s when I started to doubt myself and lose a bit of confidence,” said Rodriguez.
“I think I improved on my vocal communication with my team and making layups under pressure.”
The girls all faced many challenges as the team underwent new changes.
“One of the biggest [obstacles] I think we faced together was getting new coaches,” said senior Alexis Orsoco. “We all grew up on one coach, and everything happened so fast, we had to get used to new coaching ways,”
Orosco is a post player and one of the only seniors on the team. She is a devoted performer, having been involved with the sport since second grade.
“I was just super grateful I stuck with it,” Orosco expressed. “I did step back, and I did feel proud of myself,”
Undeterred by defeat, the girls felt the season brought forward many momentous events, one of which was winning the Matilda Torres tournament.
“Being my first year in varsity, I’ve never won a tournament, especially first place before,” Orosco said. “I feel like that was a really good time, we were all champions of that tournament, it was really cool.”
Reflecting back, the team felt their victories overtook their loss.
“I feel the high point of the season was beating Kingsburg both on their home floor and [on] ours, on senior night,” said Coach Jordan Whitfield. “The girls told us that those were their rivals, so to get those wins for the community was awesome,”
Whitfield is one of the three girls’ varsity coaches. She has been in practice since she stopped playing basketball in 2016.
“Basketball is my passion and being able to see young players develop and apply what you’ve taught them both on the court and in life is the most satisfying feeling a coach can have,” Coach Whitfield said.
Having endured considerable hardships and dealt difficulties, the girls gave it their all, and most importantly are satisfied with the results.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t do anything differently,” Orosco added.
“We got to the playoffs, ultimately the goal was just to have fun and be successful in some way.”
Overall, the team had a great season. They overcame multiple obstacles together and became closer on and off the court. The girls took their loss with dignity and have hope for what the future will bring.
“Although we couldn’t get it done for our seniors this season, we’re super excited for the season to come,” added Coach Whitfield.