Before the games and tournaments and before the sound of the buzzer that rings throughout the court and decides the fate of two teams – it is the long hours of practice from week to week that decides which teams will have a successful season and for the San Diego City College women’s basketball team; the many hours spent on the court has the improved Knights excited for the season to begin.

Last year, the Knights finished the season with an overall record of 13-13 and a conference record of 8-6. It wasn’t the best year for the team but with five returning players and five newcomers, the women’s team are looking to reach the conference playoffs.

“I think the biggest improvement this season is that our sophomores are much more aware of what is going on and much more experienced than I had in the past couple years so they’re going to make a huge impact this season,” said Head Coach Andrea Aguilar.

Sophomore point guard and team captain Darrian Castillo expressed that the team has great communication skills on both sides of the court and the team has a lot more height this year that can make the Knights a contender to win conference.

“I think we can win conference and also beat the two teams we lost to last year – Palomar and Mt. San Jacinto and I think with our communication skills being our biggest strength; we know where each other is at and we know how to play together well,” Castillo said.

The constant sound of whistles from the coaches and the high-pitched screeches from the shoes that rub on the court are evidence of the hard work the women’s team is putting in before the season starts and a testament to their focus on a winning season.

“Coach (Aguilar) is really good – she is straight forward and you know what you are going to get from her and as well with the other coaches who have been helping me a lot with my shot and my confidence,” said sophomore forward Nyaduop Lam. “I’m excited for the season to start and think we can do much better than last year.”

With five new players on the team that had some catching up to do, Coach Aguilar expressed that they have been progressing and are learning fast. “They had a lot of growing up to do when they first got out here – but they’ve been hanging in there pretty strong. They’re just about caught up to where the sophomores were and definitely are past where we were last year – so as a whole we are much stronger this year,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar also added that the team so far has no severe injuries other than the minor aches and pains that occur throughout the months of training and the team has the talent for a winning season, “With this group of girls and if we can stay healthy; this team has the ability to go all the way to playoffs.”

The Knights will begin its season on Nov. 14-15 at the Santa Barbara Crossover Tournament and in December they will be hosting the Knights Colbert Classic Tournament from the 12-14 in the Harry West Gymnasium.