For the Los Gatos High girls basketball team, the future is now. The Wildcats have height, athleticism and youth on their side, which should make for an exciting season.
Coach Sara Quilici Giles is in her fourth season with the team, but she said this year is unlike any other. Out of the 10 players on the roster, only four are returners. Out of those four, they got to experience only an abbreviated season in the spring due to Covid.
Los Gatos has a tremendous freshmen class of three players, two sophomores, two juniors and three seniors, making for quite a dynamic.
“We’re very young and inexperienced at the varsity level, but we play hard and we are hungry,” Giles said. “We are green in a way that is excellent because we don’t have any bad habits. We’re starting from the basics and really hammering in what we want to do and what we want our team identity to be.”
Junior center Casey Brennan and senior two guard Jeanette Grasty provide leadership and veteran experience. Grasty came up huge in a 43-41 win over Aragon—a traditional hoops power—on Dec. 3. She finished with a team-high 12 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer off a pass from Brennan with 10 seconds remaining.
“They have great chemistry and we’re lucky to have them,” Giles said. “Casey is one of those players who does things no one else wants to do. She’s diving for the loose ball, rebounding in traffic, guarding the toughest players. And Jeanette has really stepped up into a leadership role, is very vocal, leads by example and is great at leading the younger players.”
Freshman Ashley Childers, a 6-foot wing player, had a team-high 13 points in a season-opening win over Mountain View on Nov. 27. Giles said a moment from a summer league game perfectly underscored the type of mental acuity Childers possesses.
“She got a steal in the back court, there was seven seconds on the game clock and she had the foresight and sense of mind to attack the basket and score,” Giles said. “She saw the clock winding down, knew how much time she had left and made the right play. That’s a hard thing to get seniors to do, let alone a freshman. Ashley is very skilled and talented, and has unlocked about a tenth of her total potential. She’s got a great basketball body, is super athletic, long and lanky, and asks all the right questions.”
A coach’s dream?
“She is,” Giles said. “I’m trying to get her out of her shell a little bit, but she’s just a joy to coach.”
Childers’ fellow freshmen, Nicole Steiner and Ella Rabitz, have been playing together for years and their chemistry shows on the court. Steiner is another 6-footer and someone Giles has been coaching for a long time.
“Nicole has no idea how good she can be,” Giles said. “She has great touch around the rim, is athletic and uses her size well. Once the wheels really start turning, it’s going to be exciting to see what she can do because she’s going to be really good. And Ella is a firecracker on defense.”
Belle Bramer, a sophomore forward, has made dramatic improvement since the Covid spring season, a testament to her work ethic. Giles doesn’t like to take Bramer out of the game because she’s a true difference-maker.
“She’s our leader on defense and always works hard on offense,” Giles said. “She’s a firecracker and our Energizer Bunny. She’s improved mentally, her shot selection has improved and she is just non-stop. She’s so fun to be around, fills up the stat sheet, is long and lanky, can score in the open court and is very disciplined on defense.”
Bramer has great anticipation, as evidenced by her six deflections against Mountain View.
“She disrupts what the other team does and is a wonderful player to have on the team,” Giles said.
Claire Galbo, a sophomore wing player, is another 6-foot player who has skill to go along with a strong work ethic.
“Claire is figuring things out on the varsity level and learning to be a little more finesse and intentional with her movements,” Giles said. “It’s been going really well to see her improvement.”
Giles describes junior forward Keira Dodd as “everyone’s favorite hype man” for her ability to pump the team and keep them energized.
“Keira is pure energy in human form,” Giles said. “When she’s not on the court or at the games, it shows. She is the soul of our team and is the one who gets us going and keeps us going. She has such a positive energy that she can turn a game around with her presence.”
Catherine Candelaria, a 5-4 senior wing player, and Daria Faradjeva, a 5-4 senior guard, will also make an impact in a variety of ways throughout the season. Four years ago, Los Gatos advanced to the CIF Northern California playoffs by reaching the CCS Division I championship game.
The Wildcats would love nothing more than to contend for a league and section championships and advance to NorCals. Los Gatos is also getting things done off the court as well. The team is assembling cold-weather kits they will donate to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Pantry to be given out to the homeless population in the Los Gatos area.
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at el**@we*****.com and (831) 886-0471, ext. 3958.
