Scholastic girls basketball is always one of the stronger winter sports locally and this season should prove no different. Perennial power La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School under head coach Terri Bamford is coming off eight consecutive league and CIF championships, finishing as the Division IV state runner-up last winter. Despite the loss of Dominique Conners (University of San Diego), Janae Fulcher (Arizona State University) and Chelsea Burns (Utah State), the Lady Torreys are looking to pick up right where the 27-6 squad left off last year. This year’s Lady Torreys roster includes five young Division I prospects. LJCD returns junior starting point guard Ariana Elegado, who is one of the top point guards in the state. Also returning is 6’4″ Gillian Howard, a dominant force inside, and Chemayne Shipley, a multi-dimensional player with three-point range and the ability to put the ball on the floor and score. The Lady Torreys also add two sensational freshmen in the 5’10″ Hood “twin towers” who will make an immediate impact this season, according to Bamford. Newcomer Kaylah Miller and sophomore Shayla Dinwiddie are deadly shooters from the outside, and junior Alexis Samuels returns as one of the team’s top defenders and rebounders. Finally, Bamford says to look for the junior returnees to use their valuable experience to lead the young team to contend for a ninth CIF title and a trip to the state championship. “We will look to run an up-tempo offense and hard-nosed full-court defense this year,” Bamford remarked. “This team has the ability to control the tempo of the game. Offensively, the Lady Torreys are multidimensional and have the ability to shoot threes, dominate in the post and attack the basket.” At The Bishop’s School, head coach Marlon Wells and the Lady Knights finished 21-10 overall and 5-3 in Coastal League play last season. Bishop’s lost to LJCD in the CIF finals, then lost in the first round of the state playoffs to St. Mary’s. While Bishop’s lost Michelle Brunker (Louisiana Lafayette) to graduation, key seniors this season will be Inga Orekhova (6’3″ guard), who Wells says is an outstanding three-point shooter, an elite high school major player and arguably as good as anyone in the country; and Gizelle Studevent (5’ 11″ shooting guard), who Wells feels is one of the best pure jump-shooters in the country and will head to Penn State next season. Juniors expected to make major contributions include 5’ 10″ guard Elaina White, who Wells says is a very difficult player to guard because of her ability to shoot from the perimeter and her ability to go inside; and guard/forward Briana Martinez (5’10″), who Wells feels has an opportunity to be very good if she keeps on working hard every day in the gym. “Briana is an emerging talent in this class and has enormous potential and the skills to be a top-flight recruit,” Wells said. “I believe that we have a pretty good shot at winning league and CIF titles. Hopefully we can go deep into the state playoffs also. La Jolla Country Day School will always be a tough challenge for us. Mater Dei Catholic will also put up a good fight.” At La Jolla High School, the Lady Vikings under head coach Ty Eveleth went 9-16 a season ago, losing in the first round of the CIF playoffs to El Capitan. Some key players this season look to include senior Darcey Elliott, sophomore Valerie Nawahine and junior Natalia Cravens. “We will be a young team that will be very competitive in the strong Western League,” Eveleth noted. Finally, University City High is off to a 2-4 start for head coach James Greer, following action in the Coronado Classic and a recent loss to Horizon.