The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1949.
Since the start of the millennium, the St. Anthony girls’ basketball program has been one of the most successful programs in Southern California. The Saints claimed their first CIF-SS plaque in 2000, then won consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011, and added another in 2016.
This past February, the Saints claimed their 5th CIF-SS title in the last quarter century, continuing their run of excellence on the hardwood. It was the first for Ray Bennett as head coach, and came in Division 2AA, the highest bracket St. Anthony has ever conquered.
With success comes expectations, and those remain high for a team that returns a solid core from last year’s championship squad. The loss of guards Melaiah Joseph and CIF Player of the Year Ryann Bennett won’t be easy to overcome, but there’s still plenty of firepower as the Saints look to add another banner to the rafters at Jack Errion Gym.
While they may be limited in numbers, the talent should still be there to win plenty of games. Seven of the eight players on the varsity roster are upperclassmen, and three played a major role on last year’s championship squad.
Senior Kadence Lloyd is the top returning scorer who averaged 12.3 points per game last year, and she was also the team’s leading rebounder with 7.8 boards per contest.
“She was a huge piece of our success, but what I’m looking for this year is to be more of a vocal leader, for her to lead by example,” said Bennett of Lloyd. “She’s got a couple Division II offers right now, so at the moment, she’s the only player we have with offers. Carrying that kind of cache, she has to be able to rally the troops and get them on board for what other players under her have goals to do, which is play college basketball.”
She’ll be the co-captain of this year’s squad with fellow senior Anaya Tunu, who was also one of the team’s top rebounders a year ago and is a versatile and valuable presence on the court.
“Leadership is going to be the key, and Anaya is a four-year starter who has been around so she’s seen the highs and the lows,” said Bennett. “In her first two years, we didn’t make the playoffs, and then to come back the next year we win the championship. So she’s been on both sides of the spectrum, and with that said, she knows what it takes to get there and get the job done.”
Tunu said she’s improved her scoring during the offseason, particularly with her shot-making ability. She also expects to be a better defender, but acknowledges that leadership might be the most important trait she can offer.
“We just want to come together, play together, and find that chemistry with our new team,” Tunu said. “I’m captain this year, so I have to lead my team and try to have a big impact to help guide them with what they have to do.”
Junior Laila Hughes is back and ready for a larger role in the year ahead. Known primarily as a defensive presence, she’ll be asked to do more ball-handling and make plays as the starting point guard. She’ll eventually be joined in the backcourt by junior transfer Jordyn Washington who came over from Long Beach Poly. Washington will be eligible following a 30-day sit-out period, but will add another dimension to the Saints on both sides of the ball once she’s on the floor.
Junior Dallyn Knox will see an expanded role after coming off the bench as a 10th grader, and the time she’s spent working on her game in the offseason is paying dividends, according to Bennett.
“She put in a lot of work this summer in the weight room and improving her shot and improving her ability to handle the ball and attack the basket,” Bennett said. “She’ll be a much-improved player, and she’ll be a big help to what we have to accomplish, especially early.”
The Saints will have plenty of tough games on the schedule, opening with the Oxford Academy Tournament. They’ll also play in the Battle at the Beach tournament at Redondo Union, then travel out to Arizona for the Nike Tournament of Champions at the end of the year for a great test against national competition.
A couple non-league home games in early December against Rialto (Dec. 3) and Windward (Dec. 7) will be a good litmus test before the Nike TOC and before Del Rey League starts. St. Anthony finished second place behind Bishop Montgomery a season ago and will still have to contend with tough challengers like La Salle and St. Mary’s Academy.
The path to success this season will have to start where it always does for the Saints: on defense. That’s where Bennett places his focus, and what has been the recipe for championship basketball.
“We always play hard defensively and we focus on the defensive end of the floor. We kind of let the offense take care of itself,” Bennett said. “Defensively is where we try to hang our hats, and we try to keep teams under 50 points a game. The games that we did that last year, we had success. When we didn’t do it, we were on the short end of the stick.”
A 25-win season that included a CIF-SS championship is a tough act to follow, but as recent years have shown, you shouldn’t count out the Saints.
