MCHS Girls Basketball to Play South

The Mira Costa girls basketball season gets underway Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. when the varsity team plays South Torrance High. The contest will be the first game appearance by new coach Trenton Jackson, the former Marlborough High School girls basketball head coach.

Trenton replaces head coach Craig Takahashi, who resigned amid speculation that his departure came as the result of unhappy parents instead of the publicly stated reason of spending more time with his family.

Jackson, who was named to the Mustang helm on Nov. 8, has coached at Marlborough, an all-girls school, since 2004 and was extremely successful, amassing an overall record of 146-63 while winning the Sunshine League title six times and going undefeated in league each season. He has also coached many highly recruited players while at Marlborough, including former McDonald’s All-American MVP Nikki Speed, now the starting point guard for Rutgers University.

“We are very proud to have coach Jackson as a member of our staff,” said Mira Costa Principal Ben Dale. “This is a long-term hire and we look forward to working with coach Jackson for a long time.

“This begins a new chapter in Mustang basketball,” Dale said. “And as coach Jackson repeated to me several times, this will not be a rebuilding year.”

Returning varsity players include senior Mackenzie Austin, junior Ashley Reese and sophomore Camille Mills.

Last year's team, with Takahashi in his first year as head coach after several years assisting, . In a game report on Manhattan Beach Patch, sportswriter Nick Dietzen wrote that the team "went toe-to-toe for 28 minutes, staying within five points before succumbing to the number one ranked team in the nation 67-53."  

Seniors that graduated form last year's team are Kylie Nakamine, Joelle Herron, Jenna Stephanoff and Marie Lauzon.