Young Bruins Impress in First Win of the Season

A young Bruins squad beat the Monte Vista Christian Mustangs 48-34 on Dec. 1 showing great promise for the season and the future.

An extremely young Santa Clara Bruins varsity basketball squad showed that grade level is just a number in their 48-34, Cyber Monday victory over Monte Vista Christian. Featuring just one senior and two juniors on the roster, the majority of the Bruins team isn’t set to graduate until 2028. However, on Monday night, the sophomore class showed an immense amount of promising talent.

Primary ball handlers Bella Leano and Emnet Biruk, both members of Santa Clara’s 2028 class, led the way against the Mustangs, but all nine Bruins who saw the court made a positive impact.

Starting center Rhia Swaminath used her physical presence in the paint to put home numerous second-chance points. Another member of that 2028 class, Swaminath showed strong rebounding at both ends throughout the contest. Fellow sophomore Kyla Perkins stood out by getting to the free throw line twice in the first half. Perkins opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a tough layup as her defender was right on top of her, but the forward managed to get the ball around the opponent’s reach and up off the glass and down.

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The sophomore show didn’t end there. Another member of the class, Thea Ruybal, delivered and completed an and-one opportunity in the third quarter after coming up with a steal at the offensive end. Fellow second-year player Jillian Aochi made a sweet pass through a tiny hole between two defenders to spring Leano free late in the game when the Mustangs were starting to pull within striking distance. Defensively, the highlight of the night was sophomore Sophia Latayan hustling back to deny a fast-break opportunity by knocking the ball out of bounds from behind her opponent who was all alone and about to lay it off the glass for an easy bucket.

Nothing will come easy for the Bruins team this season. They will be without star junior Victoria Calvillo, who is done for the season with an injury. In her absence, Santa Clara’s lone senior, Olivia Moreno stepped up with a calming presence, rebounding at the defensive end and making good on her offensive opportunities when called upon.

It was Santa Clara’s youngest player, though, who had the shot of the game. After a Mustangs 7-0 run, the visitors had cut their deficit to just six points with just under three minutes left in the game. That’s when Bruins freshman Audrey Kay calmly drained a mid-range jumper to stop the Mustangs’ run and restore an eight-point lead with just 2:20 on the clock.

“I know everybody is going to be able to contribute on any given night,” praised Bruins Head Coach Deedee Kiyota on the surprising depth of her young squad. “These girls are super motivated. The whole group of sophomores and the one freshman are super motivated and super energetic. I’m excited for them.”

Coach Kiyota did acknowledge that there will be some nights that will be far more challenging when facing stronger, more veteran teams.

“I know that it is going to be a huge learning curve for us, especially with teams that have returners and juniors and seniors,” said Kiyota. “Every night we’re going to learn something new, we’re going to get better. If these girls stay together for these next three years, it’s super exciting, especially because they are so motivated and so energetic. They want to be here, they want to do it. You don’t get [teams like that often] where all of them want to do it, but these girls, they all want to learn.”