PHOENIX – The Bourgade Catholic girls basketball team aims to build on last season’s success after narrowly missing the playoffs with just seven players.
Five of those seven players were freshmen, and second-year head coach Marcus Neal has since doubled the roster, giving the lady Golden Eagles a deeper bench.
“We haven’t had a lot of bodies because a lot of our girls also did volleyball,” Neal said. “So they’re coming straight from the volleyball season into basketball. I feel like I’m a good basketball trainer, so we’re doing well. We’re freshmen-heavy but we’re doing well.”
One of the biggest challenges Neal is facing is building a girls basketball program at Bourgade, since many of the girls play soccer. He has only three returning players from last year: two seniors and a sophomore.
“I realized that there’s a big jump going from recreation center basketball to varsity and that’s what a lot of our freshmen are doing,” Neal said.
Point guard Nizhoni Rainbolt, a sophomore who was part of that seven-player roster last season, is now a leader on the team. “I was scared at first because I thought I wasn’t going to be as good as I was,” she said. “My confidence was low, but towards the end of last season, I started learning more about myself and pushing myself because I knew I could grow from it.”
Nizhoni has been playing basketball for more than eight years and is glad to see more girls come out for basketball this season. “They came out, and some are still nervous, and that’s OK, but you have to start somewhere. You have to face your fears,” Rainbolt said.
Last season, the Golden Eagles played eight games before getting their first win. Coach Neal has been working during the offseason and preseason practices to ensure that slow start doesn’t happen again.
“I’ve been pushing them and challenging them every day to play fast, and we’ve been working on defense every day,” Neal said. “We may not score a lot, but we’re not going to let teams score on us. We’re going to play lockdown defense.”
Nizhoni agrees with Coach Neal about emphasizing defense, explaining that she likes being a defensive presence on the court rather than focusing on offense.
“I’m really aggressive and I’m really competitive,” she said. “I always go for the ball, and that’s what I’ve been training for with my coaches.”
Nizhoni’s personal goals this season are to learn how to handle pressure and stay calm during high-pressure situations. “Honestly that’s going to help me become a better player because if people are talking about you on the court, you just have to go through it. All I’m thinking about this season is just getting better,” Rainbolt said.
The 3A basketball state championships consist of a 24-team bracket, and last season, Bourgade Catholic finished 26th. Despite being that close to the postseason and not making it, Nizhoni looks at the positive side.
“We were right there, and for seven players about to make it to the playoffs, I was really proud of us. That shows you don’t need many girls as long as you have your coaches and teammates—you can do it,” Rainbolt said.
Bourgade Catholic girls basketball will start the season on the road against Seton Catholic Preparatory on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Their home opener is on Friday, Nov. 22, with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. at Tepsic Gymnasium on Bourgade Catholic’s campus.