The girls basketball season started in late November. The Surprise Independent asked the local coaches for their outlook on the season.

SHADOW RIDGE STALLIONS

6A West Valley Region
2023-24 Record: 18-11 overall, 6-4 region (6A play-in)
Coach: John Williams (Third year at Shadow Ridge head coach)
Top Returnees: SF Danica Lindemann, Jr., 5-8 (7.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.7 apg); SG Kylie Hammer, Soph., 5-7 (1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
How many years have you coached basketball? 12 years.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Willingness to compete for each other and not for selfish ambition.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? Basketball IQ. Learning how to be the coach on the court.
Who are your team leaders? Danica Lindemann. Our lone starter returning who leads by example and understands the fight it takes all four quarters to compete at the varsity level. Kylie Hammer is a tough physical guard who’s been proving she deserves a spot from day one.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad who could make an impact? Ava Dunn and Mya Horn are quick guards who can get hot at any moment. Clara Wilson who has improved and grown as a value component on both ends of the floor.

WILLOW CANYON WILDCATS

5A Northwest Region
2023-24 Record: 19-8 overall, 8-4 region (Reached 5A first round)
Coach: Brandon Scholtz (11th season as Willow Canyon coach)
Top Returnees: SG Sarah Karnitz, Jr., 5-7 (14.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg 1.5 spg); PG Kandace O’Connell, Sr., 5-3 (11.2 ppg, 4.3 spg, 1.8 apg).
How many years have you coached basketball? This will be my 11th season as the varsity coach at Willow Canyon
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Youth and speed. We are a very young team but we have a lot of speed and hustle. We are hoping that we can use that to our advantage this season.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? Being consistent for a full 32 minutes, avoiding any let downs. With as young as our team is there will be some learning curves and adjustments that need to be made to make up for a lack of experience. So we will be focusing on playing our game for a full 32 minutes.
Who are your team leaders? We will be relying heavily on our key returners from last season, junior Sarah Karnitz, senior Kayla Preston, senior Maya Marshall and senior Kandace O’Connell. All four have the experience we need to lead these younger girls and show them what it looks like to compete at this level everyday.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad who could make an impact? We have six sophomores on the varsity team this year so there are a lot of new faces and girls playing new roles on the team. Sophomore Jaylynn Pope is someone we are looking at to make a big leap from last year and play a really important role for us on both sides of the ball. Junior Mikayla Jenkins will also be someone who steps into a much bigger role this year especially on the defensive side of the ball she will be asked to play basically all five positions at different points this season.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or achieve the goals the team has set? We need to have our experienced players lead by example and have our younger girls absorb that leadership. We have the ability to accomplish our team goals this year but we need it all to come together since we have so many new girls on the roster this season.