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Skyline Tech High School’s 1A Girls Varsity Basketball team is building something special. If you look at the top of the Arizona Charter Athletic Association’s (CAA} South Conference, you will see Skyline distancing them selves from the pack. Led by solid guard play, good rebounding and a strong emphasis on fundamentals, Skyline is surging toward a high seed for the playoffs. “They play very hard as a team,” said head coach Lynette Clark.

A turning point for Skyline (8-1) came in a non-conference tournament in November called the 2011 Turkey Shootout. The young ladies came in 2nd place, but everyone was extremely disappointed that they fell short in the championship game. However, the silver lining was that it proved that they could compete against strong opposition. “I think this was a huge confidence builder for them to realize that we can match up to these bigger schools,” Clark said after the team battled 2A and 3A teams.

Up to this point it was their only loss as the team has ripped off 8 consecutive victories. “It motivated us,” said Sarina Catha, Casa Blanca, 12th grade, of the early season tournament.

During a recent game against ASU Prep-Central, Skyline played with a combination of toughness and finesse to claim a 50-29 victory at the Dome Tent in District 5. That win helped them clinch the South Conference Championship with two games left. But even with the conference title in their hip pocket, don’t expect the team to take their foot off the gas. “We just got to keep playing how we’ve been playing, and show how much we really want it,” said point guard Camille Pardonet, Santan, 11th grade.

Don’t expect Skyline to rest on their laurels with so many other goals within their reach. “It feels like we could only get better at this point,” said Catha.

When the season started assistant coach Darron Clark saw that the team had a lot of upside. What they lacked in fundamentals they made up for in raw talent. During practices the coaches preached the rudiments of the game and defense. Another important lesson for the young ladies was in discipline. “We would bench them to let them know we were serious about it,” said assistant coach Clark. Judging by their record, you can’t argue with the results.

Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden said, “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” Head coach Clark credits her squad for maintaining their character while working hard as a team. “They are definitely team leaders in and outside the classroom,” said Clark.

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