The girls’ basketball team won their season opener vs El Camino Real 60-52 Wednesday night in Taper Gymnasium. The victory is the first of the season for the new squad as they move to 1-0 on the year.

The Wolverine defense showed their strength early on, holding the Conquistadors to only four points in the first quarter. Led by 6’4″ sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen ’21, the girls used their size and athleticism to their advantage on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines went into the locker room with a 21-17 halftime lead.

The squad then found a rhythm in the third quarter, developing a chemistry on offense while continuing to hold El Camino Real on defense. They survived a late push by the Conquistadors to win the game 60-52 to put them in a four-way tie for first place in the Mission League with Marlborough, Alemany and Notre Dame.

The Wolverines are coming off a successful season led by twins Jayda Ruffus-Milner ’18 and Jayla Ruffus-Milner ’18 and hope to continue their triumphs in the new season. Although no one can replace the success of the twins, Wednesday’s game proved promising for the young team, as Iriafen and fellow sophomore Kimiko Katzaroff ’21 shined with 28 and 15 points, respectively. The squad hopes to use their young talent along with their experience to separate themselves from rest of the Mission League.

Despite the win, the Wolverines still have a lot to work on. Forward Ella Price ’20 was happy with their performance but acknowledged that their success was a work in progress.

“The first game went well,” Price said. “We played as a team, but we still need to work together on our confidence and growing as a unit.”

“We played hard and had one of our best rebounding games, but we need to improve on communicating so we can stay together as a team,” guard Mirabella Wong ’20 said.

The Wolverines will face off with Valencia on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in their second game of the season.