Tweeeeeet! The referee’s whistle blows as Ayla Johnson (‘26) catches the ball and walks over to the free throw line. There are less than eight seconds left in the fourth, and final, quarter. The score is 62 (Bishop’s) to 55 (Montgomery), and now Ayla has the chance to add two points to Bishop’s score. She makes the first, earning claps and cheers from the bleachers and raising the score to 63-55. The second does not find the basket; however, Bishop’s girls gain possession of the ball once more, and as the final seconds on the clock tick down to zero, they know—they’ve won it!

On Wednesday, February 26, Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team faced Montgomery High School in the CIF Division 2 semifinal match. This match was “intense, exciting, and fulfilling,” as Ayla put it. With this win, the girls advanced to the championship game facing Otay Ranch on March 1. While the semifinal game was an astounding moment in the girls’ career, there were many other highlights that are worth remembering.

Ayla described it as “amazing being back in a semifinals game in our home gym.” Last year, the team had made it to the semifinals but did not advance to the championship game. This year, the girls faced new challenges. Besides having to navigate around injuries from the players, the Montgomery Aztecs’ cheer team made the environment feel far opposite from a regular home game to Bishop’s spectators. “We came into the game hungry and ready to win, fueled by our loss at this stage last year,” said Ayla.

Despite the obstacles that presented themselves during this game, the “team came to the conclusion that we don’t need a loud group of cheerleaders to give each other energy, we get that energy from each other and that’s all we need,” as Ayla put it. 

Nyah Williams (‘28) thought the cheers were “meant to scare us, but I think getting out of our heads and playing with each other and for each other definitely helped.” Margo Leong (‘27) described their game plan for this semifinals match up as working on improving past issues with their game, “centered around controlling the pace and limiting turnovers.”

Many times during the game, the Girls’ Basketball team had to tune out Montgomery High School’s cheer team in order to make crucial shots. Just after halftime, Bishop’s was up two points against Montgomery and Kamaili Lei Lasua (‘27) was faced with an important free throw to extend the lead the Knights had. As she set up to shoot, the Aztecs cheer team screamed, cheered, and stomped as loud as they could, doing anything they could to break her focus. However, she was not disturbed and went on to make both shots. 

As each player wearing the Bishop’s colors set up for their free throws, the Aztecs cheer team set up for their frenzy of sounds. But no matter how loud or quiet the bleachers were, the Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team would not falter and would not miss. Their perseverance during this game allowed them to advance, marking an amazing turning point for the Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team.

In the beginning of the season, the girls went undefeated against Morse, Otay Ranch, Vincent Memorial, and Imperial High School in the Monte Vista Thanksgiving Showdown. In addition to winning the tournament, Margo and Moana Peterson (‘26) were named co-MVP’s of the entire tournament, and Margo achieved double-double in points and rebounds in all four games, meaning she got double digits in both categories. 

Another highlight in their basketball journey was on December 6, the night of the annual Christmas tree lighting at Bishop’s. In the Eva May Fleet Athletic Center, the Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team faced Our Lady of Peace Academy. Buzzing with excitement as they got to play in front of a large and spirited crowd that night, the girls put on their best performance with Maya Mahone (‘28) leading the scores with 14 points! The final score of the game was 52, Bishop’s, versus 26, Our Lady of Peace Academy. With this win, their record was bumped up to 7 wins and 0 losses so far in the season!

Despite the momentum, the girls struggled for back to back wins. They played in Rancho Christian’s Play4Kay Coaches vs. Cancer showcase where they faced Pioneer High School. Unfortunately, Margo, who was an essential member of the team, was not active during this game due to a previous injury. Without her, the team struggled defensively, while also having trouble on offense. The final score of this game was 37, Bishop’s, and 54, Pioneer. 

Just a few days later, the girls faced Cathedral Catholic where they hit a big milestone. In this game, the team made six out of the twelve shots taken from the three point line! That’s a lot of points. Ayla made 3 three-pointers, and Kali Mahone (‘26) followed up with two. The leading scorer for this game was Ayla with 17 points, while Maya scored 11 and Moana achieved 7 assists. They were also highlighted for their hard work in an article written by the San Diego Union Tribune, which you can find here.

On the first of February, the girls faced Granite Hills High School in the Mater Dei Crusader Classic. While the win was cherished, the real highlight was found within Nyah, who was awarded the Sportsmanship Player of the Game award during this match. She also scored 15 points, which was a career high so far, with 3 three-pointers! 

A fortnight later, on Valentines Day, the Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team faced down St. Joseph Academy. During the entire game, it seemed as if the two teams were neck and neck and the win would come down to the nitty gritty. The final score turned out to be 34, Bishop’s, and 33, St. Joseph Academy. Margo was the leading scorer this game with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The girls’ record would be 15-11 going into the playoffs!

During the first round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs, they played the number sixteen seed, as the number one seed, which turned out to be Calexico High School. Within the first 30 seconds, Ayla had hit the record of scoring 1,000 points in her short high school career! Overall, she and Kamaili both scored 15 points throughout the entire game, while Margo trailed close behind with 14.

With this win, they advanced to the CIF quarterfinals, where they played against University City on February 22. The Knights held the lead for the entire game and all five starters scored double digit points during the game. The final score was 70, Bishop’s, and 47, University City. With this momentous victory, the girls were headed off to the CIF semifinals, where they would face off the Montgomery Aztecs. 

Fast forward to the CIF Division 2 Final game, the Bishop’s Girls’ Basketball team played against Otay Ranch High School. There was a lot of pressure on the players’ shoulders, which resulted in struggles all around the court. The final score was 29, Bishop’s, and 45, Otay Ranch. Kamaili was the lead scorer in the game, earning 12 points and 13 rebounds. She was also awarded the CIF Sportsmanship Award for the entire season.

In the CIF Regional Championships, the Bishop’s Knights, as the number seven seed,  played against Culver City, who were the number ten seed. Inconsistencies with chemistry on the court and tempo caused the girls to struggle, resulting in a loss. The final score was 39, Bishop’s, and 50, Culver City. Again, Kamaili was the lead scorer during this game with 12 points. Both Ayla and Margo contributed 10 points to the Knight’s total score.

Overall, making it to the CIF Finals was a great accomplishment for the girls this season. It was also a first for all of the 10 players on the team, and making it to Regionals was the first for 9 of their players. With only one senior leaving the team, there remains a lot of potential inside this young batch of remarkable players, paving the way for amazing things to happen in the future. Go Knights!