JDCHS girls basketball team soaring high
Juan Diego Catholic High School’s girls basketball coach Natalie Williams had T-shirts printed for the team with the quote “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Williams used the quote from Marrianne Williamson to introduce herself as the new coach of the Soaring Eagle squad this summer.
It looks like Williams has at least 16 believers, so far.
The JDCHS team is currently ranked number one in the state in 3A while sporting a 7-1 record. Through the first six games of the year, the Soaring Eagle squad was undefeated, with four of its wins by double digit margins. The team’s only loss of the season was to Weber, a 5A school, 44-39, in the finals of the Lady Bear Classic at Bear River, Dec. 10.
“These girls work hard and I always tell them how good they are,” Williams said. “They don’t necessarily believe how good they are. They are pretty focused on one game at a time.”
The team has nearly matched its win total from last year -- nine -- with 13 games left in the season. A key focus this season is the squad’s theme, “We will protect our house.” Juan Diego defeated Logan (43-24), Snow Canyon (44-43), Juab (57-39) and Copper Hills (43-33), to be 4-0 on their home court.
Freshmen twins Monique and Dominique Mills are the leading scorers for the Soaring Eagle squad. Monique is a five-foot-nine guard who leads the team in scoring at 13 points a game. Dominique is a five-foot-ten forward who averages 10 points a game. Sophomore Alexa Mortensen and senior Julia Colosimo are the team’s top 3-point shooters and, along with junior Lancee Whetman, round out the team’s scoring with five to six points a game.
Others on the team are seniors Tara McHugh, Haidi Arias, Alex Dornbier and Presley Whetman; juniors Paige Castro, Hannah Ledek and Nadi Rico; sophomores Kim Brennelsen and Melanie Mecham; and freshmen Mackenzie King and Sarah Christiansen.
Williams is enjoying her first head coaching stint after six years as an assistant at Skyline. Her own stellar multi-sports career included a gold-medal performance as a member of the 2000 Olympic champion U.S. women’s basketball squad in Sydney, Australia.
“I love this job and I love giving back to this game,” Williams said. “And it’s always fun to win.”
