It’s that time of year again — turkey’s smoked, yams are candied, and the three ball is ready to fly. With basketball season tipping off, The Coast News took a trip around North County to find out who’s who on the hardwood for the upcoming prep girls’ basketball season.
Cathedral Catholic (Western League)
Coach: Jackie Turpin
Key Returning Player: Maddie Moeller
Key Departing Player: Alana Brackett
Outlook 2025: Finishing 7-1 in the Western League, the Dons’ postseason run ended in the regional semifinals with a 54-51 loss to Granada Hills Charter. Maddie Moeller is a complete player. She has size, creates in transition, rebounds well, has good peripheral vision as a passer and can shoot.
Last season, Moeller averaged 17.5 points, eight rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.9 steals per game, boasting a 41% field goal percentage. With top scorer Alana Brackett gone, the Dons will need more from Moeller to repeat as San Diego Section Division I champions and make another deep playoff run.
Carlsbad (Coastal League)
Coach: Donna Huhn
Key Returning Player: Georgia Hawk
Key Departing Player: none
Outlook 2025: Carlsbad returns nearly its full team from a season ago. As a freshman, Georgia Hawk scored nearly 20 points per game, with a season-high 27 against Imperial. In 17 games, she broke the 20-point mark. The team played .500 ball on the season, but with Hawk and the rest of the team a year older, they should add a few to the win column.
San Dieguito Academy (Avocado League)
Coach: Aubree Smithey
Key Returning Player: Romy Malmquist
Key Departing Player: Cami Currie
Outlook 2025: A tough 2023-2024 for SDA, who managed only six wins. Senior Romy Malmquist is a talented guard who averaged 10 points and four rebounds per game last season, and junior Lilian Malewicz is a tenacious rebounder, grabbing eight boards per game last year. More than likely the team steps neither backward nor forward this season.
El Camino (Avocado League)
Coach: James Greer
Key Returning Player: Aleigha Tatum
Key Departing Player: Justine Stewart, Alana Hoskins
Outlook 2025: With multiple losses by forfeit and only one win in league play, the Wildcats didn’t put their best foot forward last year. Alana Hoskins, a versatile guard with active hands as a defender, solid shooting range and the ability to score in transition, was the bright spot. Unfortunately for El Camino, Hoskins transferred to neighboring Oceanside.
La Costa Canyon (Coastal League)
Coach: Malcolm Warfield
Key Returning Player: Ali DiBenedetto
Key Departing Player: Kierra Colestock
Outlook 2025: First-year head coach Malcolm Warfield takes over for Ashley Fleming, now the head coach at MiraCosta College. Last season, the Mavericks boasted an impressive eight league wins and an opening-round San Diego Section victory over Academy of our Lady of Peace in Division I.
Last season, Mavs sophomore Ali DiBenedetto averaged 10 points per game and she will be looking to build upon that effort. But with a new head coach and the graduation of high scorer Kierra Colestock, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Mavs had a reset year.
Oceanside (Coastal League)
Coach: Brian Burnett
Key Returning Player: Martina Griffin
Key Departing Player: Jayla Morgan
Outlook 2025: The Pirates made a deep run at the state level last year, largely behind Martina Griffin’s scoring. The team has added size with six-foot-two sophomore center Brooklyn Davis and six-foot sophomore center Martha Wong. Alana Hoskins, an additional guard coming via El Camino, gives head coach Brian Burnett a significant amount of firepower. Oceanside is a section championship favorite.
Santa Fe Christian (Freelance League)
Coach: Vickie Carrington
Key Returning Player: Piper Lenihan, Jennifer Stanion
Key Departing Player: Elizabeth Bickley
Outlook 2025: As a sophomore center, Jennifer Stanion had an Angel Reese-like season, averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per game – six of those being offensive. Also returning is high-scoring senior guard Piper Lenihan, who averaged 19.4 points per game during her junior campaign. Winners of 18 games, SFC went all the way to the Division IV San Diego Section Championship in 2023-24. The Eagles look even better in 2025.
San Marcos (Palomar League)
Coach: Jason Cowell
Key Returning Player: Christiana Samuel
Key Departing Player: Kyra Quinn
Outlook 2025: It’s going to be hard to do worse in the Palomar League this year than last when the Knights went winless in league play. Five-foot-eleven Christiana Samuel will look to build on a strong freshman season that saw her average eight rebounds per game.
Vista (Avocado League)
Coach: Pat Moramarco
Key Returning Player: Isabella Mosley
Key Departing Player: Amelia Sciacca
Outlook 2025: Vista looks to build on a strong 2023-24. Difficult, to say the least, after graduating Sciacca, the team’s top scorer and rebounder who averaged 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game over 51 career games. This year, Mosley looks to be a key contributor after averaging 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 steals per game in her sophomore season.
Rancho Buena Vista (Coastal League)
Coach: Landon Cardenas
Key Returning Player: Camille Dake
Key Departing Player: Hana El-tohamy
Outlook 2025: Scoring threats Kylie Salazar (5-foot-9) and 6-foot Camille Dake give RBV a very big and versatile backcourt. Last season, Dake averaged 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Six-foot senior forward Tiaira Richardson added even more size and averaged 5 rebounds in the game last year. Length and experience will take the Longhorns a long way.
Mission Hills (Palomar League)
Coach: Christopher Kroesch
Key Returning Player: Izzy Medina
Key Departing Player: Mariah Brown, Kyara Walter
Outlook 2025: Undefeated in league play and boasting an impressive Open Division Section Championship win over La Jolla Country Day, Mission Hills was an elite team in San Diego County last year. The rub, they graduated their top five players.
Torrey Pines (Coastal League)
Coach: Scott Herrin
Key Returning Player: Harper Kelly, Lily Oliva
Key Departing Player: Grace Trusso, Zoe Lau
Outlook 2025: A heartbreaking overtime loss to Oceanside ended the season in 2023-2024 for Torrey Pines. Always a tough out, the Falcons look to bounce back with Harper Kelly and Lily Oliva leading the offense. Oliva averaged 8.9 points per game last season but scored 13 points in the Falcons’ 66-22 win over Canyon Crest Academy to start the 2024-25 season on Nov. 19.
Escondido (Valley League)
Coach: Chris Williams
Key Returning Player: Anaya McGlory
Key Departing Player: Denise Sanchez
Outlook 2025: Division V San Diego Section champions a year ago, the Cougars have enough roster continuity to repeat in 2025. Last season, Anaya McGlory was a top scorer and rebounder for Escondido, averaging 11 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game. McGlory also led the team with an average of two blocked shots per game.
The Cougars will be looking for McGlory to step up to replace leading scorer Denise Sanchez, who graduated. Sanchez led the team last season with 410 total points, averaging 13 points, 4.6 steals and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Sage Creek (Coastal League)
Coach: Benjamin Lin
Key Returning Player: Addison Femrite, Claire Novak
Key Departing Player: Harmony Lawler
Outlook 2025: Sage Creek is coming off a deep postseason run, but with walking double-double Harmony Lawler graduated, an encore is going to be difficult. Femrite averaged 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and Novak averaged five points per game.
