As the 2024-2025 winter basketball season begins, Rancho Cucamonga High School looks forward to a promising season with new and returning players for girls basketball. Led by head coach Josh Khazali, the team looks forward to a good season after their deep CIF Division 4AA Southern Section run, only losing in the finals against Canyon with a final score of 43-52 in the previous season.
The seniors coming into the 24-25 season are Sophia Almeida, Ndiah Hall, Paisley Woo, and Taryn Peteet. All the seniors on the squad this year contributed greatly to the team over their high school careers, and they said they are looking forward to this final year of high school basketball and beyond. The rest of the team is composed of sophomore Nakia Perkins, junior Lauren Jensen, sophomore Kelsey Smith, freshman Jayla Anaya, sophomore Zara Ahaiwe, freshman Mahayla Singleton, junior Clarissa Romero, and junior Audrina Felix.
Last year, the team finished with a record of 24-10 overall and a Baseline League record of 6-4, placing the team 3rd in the Baseline League. The only losses the Cougars took during league play were against Los Osos High School, who won their program’s first state title during the 2022-2023 season with freshman Jackie Polk, and Etiwanda High School, who won two consecutive state titles during the 2021- 2022 and 2022- 2023 seasons in the Open CIF division, the most competitive form of competition across all divisions, according to Sports Illustrated.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, Rancho Cucamonga High School beat Diamond Bar High School with a final score of 41-40. Coming into the 4th quarter, the Cougars were trailing with 33 points to Diamond Bar’s 37, and with sheer determination, the team fought back with multiple three-point shots bringing the score up to 39-40. Diamond Bar committed a shooting foul against an RCHS player, opening up the opportunity for Rancho to make two free throws to win the game. The game came down to the very last shot from Rancho which was successful, closing out the game with a final score of 41-40.
