Gonzaga Prep girls basketball team out to defend State 4A championship

So two-thirds of your returning starters off a state championship basketball team have signed to play in college, two at prominent NCAA Division I schools.

You have a bench that should develop and complement your starters as the season progresses.

No other team in your league, or the state for that matter, can match what you will roll out game after game.

G-Prep is ranked 22nd in the CBS MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national preseason rankings.

What say ye Gonzaga Prep girls coach Mike Arte?

“One through 11, this is the most talented team I’ve ever had here,” said Arte, who is beginning his 27th season as head coach.

But Arte offered a quick caveat.

“I love everybody’s optimism about our team,” he said. “But it’s a long road to get to that point (state). There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of growth to take place for our kids and from a chemistry standpoint.”

Here’s one thing about the Greater Spokane League that you can take to the bank – nothing will be conceded to Gonzaga Prep.

G-Prep will be out to be the first GSL team to win back-to-back State 4A championships since Lewis and Clark (2005-08).

GSL teams have captured six out of the last nine state titles, and three other league teams have finished runner-up in that stretch.

It stands to reason that if a team makes it out of the GSL it has a chance to win it all – or at least be in the talk as a title contender.

And like most years, there are four 4A state tourney-quality teams in the league and just two get to move on and challenge for state berths.

At G-Prep, four starters, all seniors, return off last year’s 25-1 team that won its last 23 games. They are 6-foot post Otiona Gildon, last year’s league most valuable player who has signed with the University of Oregon; 5-8 point guard Laura Stockton, a first-team all-GSL pick who has signed with Gonzaga; 5-11 wing Oona Harrington, a second-team all-league pick who has signed with Carroll College; and 5-8 wing Lauren Weir.

“Our girls have gotten better,” Arte said. “Their skill sets have gotten better and their strengths are better.”

Three other players return with experience. They are guard Tayler Drynan, wing Molly McDermott and post Shafalika Byrd. Moving up to varsity is 6-1 junior post Joy Akaegbu.

“We can feature a lineup that has tremendous athletic length and size,” Arte said.

The Bullpups can play any style. They can run the court and beat teams in transition or slow it down and pound it inside to Gildon and company. G-Prep has a lot of versatility in the combinations it can put on the court.

G-Prep isn’t without areas it can improve, though.

“We need to get better and be consistent with our perimeter shooting,” Arte said.

Gildon averaged a team-leading 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last year. Stockton averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals a year ago. The numbers for both players could go up.

Arte expects more production from Harrington and Weir, too.

But Arte is quick to point out that while his team looks much like the one from a year ago, it’s also different.

The Bullpups graduated point guard Hannah Caudill. She was the heart and soul last year.

“Losing a point guard is probably the one position you don’t want to lose,” Arte said. “But we’re moving somebody in that spot that’s pretty good, too (Stockton).”

Losing Caudill and Kayla Leland will hurt G-Prep’s perimeter game. They were aces from beyond the 3-point arc.

“We’ll be much more post-oriented,” Arte said.