Last season the women’s basketball team finished the regular season with a record of 15-13 and ranked 14th in the North Region.

However, the team fell short in the first round of the playoffs, losing to San Francisco City College.

Yet the Hawks start this season with high hopes. The team will begin the season with the seventh annual CRC Invitational. The basketball tournament will last three days from Nov. 11-13, according to the CRC athletics website.

“I hope to build on what we did last year,” head coach Coral Sage said. “We made the playoffs, but I want to make it past the first round this year.”

The tournament is just the first test in a long season for the Hawks. However, the team believes they can compete for a Big 8 conference title.

“We can win the conference,” sophomore guard Andraquay Quninnine said. “It’s going to be a challenge, every game is like a championship game.”

The team has been preparing for over two months, Sage said .

“We’ve been conditioning and trying to fine tune our plays,” said Sage.

Quinnine says that the preparation and conditioning has prepared her mentally for the season.

“The mile and [the exercises] were tough,” she said. “But you have to reach your goals or you don’t play.”

The roster is smaller this season than in the past, Sage said. However, the team features six sophomores that are looking to have an impact on their team.

“We have a smaller team, but we have a very fast and athletic team,” Sage said.

Amid the high expectations, Sage also says she is “excited to play an up-tempo game.”

Sophomore forward Natalia Gibson believes that there is enough talent on the team that they have the possibility of playing in the state championship game.

“We can go really far, we can win state,” she said. “But not communicating can make the season difficult.”

The team has a few minor injuries, but hopes to get everyone healthy for the start of the season.

“Obviously nothing is perfect, the season is just starting, but we’ve put the main pieces in place to have a successful season,” Sage said.

The team has worked hard and want to make this season even better than the last.

“Every night is going to be a fight,” Gibson said.

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