The Menlo girls varsity basketball team is working to win its fifth straight CCS championship this year. After losing key contributors Karen Xin and Ruiqi Liu, the team will rely on its young roster to step up.

According to head coach Ryan Cooper, Xin and Liu were the center of the varsity team for all four years and great contributors to the team’s success. “Those two graduating have left a legacy. They’ve been wonderful ambassadors for girls basketball here at Menlo, and they’ve done a lot in terms of leaving the program in a really good place,” Cooper said.

Sophomore Annika Lecybil, who was on the varsity basketball team last year, believes this year’s team holds a lot of promise and will be able to adapt in their absence. “Obviously, it’s gonna be a lot harder without Ruiqi and Karen, but there’s going to be a lot of opportunity for us to step it up this season,” Lecybil said.

Lecybil stresses that as the team continues to practice, they will improve exponentially as the year goes on. Cooper feels similarly and said the team will grow from mistakes throughout the year to peak in the postseason. “Hopefully by playoff time we’re playing our best basketball and we have the most confidence in ourselves and our roles and we are competing for another championship,” he said.

Cooper also feels the roster is more balanced offensively this year, meaning more players will have the opportunity to score for the team.