FULLERTON, Calif.—Sometimes numbers on a scoreboard don’t tell anything close to the whole story. The same is true of league standings.

A razor-thin 61–58 loss Jan. 16 at Rosary Academy, for example, left JSerra Catholic High School’s girls’ basketball team with a 0–4 record in the powerful Trinity League. A closer look, however, reveals a dramatically different narrative for the San Juan Capistrano school.

Second-year Coach Chyanne Butler’s starting lineup consists of four freshmen and a sophomore, and yet the Lions pushed the highly regarded and considerably more experienced Royals literally to the very end.

“I don’t really have too many negatives taking away from this game,” Ms. Butler told The Epoch Times. “I’m really proud of them, the way they persevered. Overall, I’m excited. We have a young group full of excitement, full of energy. They’re still learning. They compete hard.”

Coach Chyanne Butler of the JSerra Catholic High School’s girls’ basketball team in a recent game. (Courtesy of Dylan Stewart)

Despite falling behind 7–0 less than two minutes into the game and trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half and 10 in the second, JSerra fought back to get even with 12.9 seconds left. Freshman Rosie Santos sliced through the right side of Rosary’s defense and whipped a one-hand, cross-court pass to set up classmate Shae Talleur for a clutch 3-point field goal that forged a 58–58 tie.

“To be honest, it was a rough game, but we just kept trying,” Talleur told The Epoch Times. “I never really thought like, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ I just kept my head up as much as I could and kept pushing through, and with my teammates, it just got easier and easier to keep working hard.”

In the end, it was another money 3-pointer, from Royals freshman Kaiya Watties one second before the final buzzer, that resulted in the Lions remaining winless following the first round of the eight-game Trinity League gauntlet.

Until beginning league play, JSerra had gone 18–1, including four victories each to capture tournament championships at the Rosemead Holiday Classic, Lady Pirate Holiday Classic in San Pedro, and Savanna Holiday Classic in Anaheim. The Lions, the CIF Southern Section’s top-ranked Division 3-A team this week, figure to face a similar level of competition come post-season play.

Freshman Eden Hoff (44) plays for the JSerra Catholic High School’s girls’ basketball team in a recent game. (Courtesy of Dylan Stewart)

“Out of the Trinity League, we’re in a different division,” Ms. Butler said. “These games are great for us to just keep sharpening ourselves and keep getting better. That way, when we get in the playoffs, we’ll make a great run. We want to win CIF and we want to win state. We want to win in the Trinity League but overall, I want them to play hard. I want them to understand they’re getting experience that not a lot of freshmen get.”

Perspective is among the most important things being taught by Ms. Butler, who played collegiately at USC and the University of Houston, and coached Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach to a Southern Section Division 4-A championship in 2022.

“They look at it from that angle rather than, ‘Oh, we keep losing,’” she said. “No, you guys are really winning. At the end of the day, we’re really winning.”

The message is resonating, even if JSerra’s next assignment, Jan. 23 against visiting Mater Dei of Santa Ana, is particularly daunting. The Monarchs, atop the Trinity League at 4–0 and 16–6 overall against a very challenging schedule, stand fifth in Division 1 in the latest Southern Section poll.

Freshman Rosie Santos (5) plays for the JSerra Catholic High School’s girls’ basketball team in a recent game. (Courtesy of Dylan Stewart)

The Lions suffered by far their most one-sided loss this season, 108–37, Jan. 4 at Mater Dei. They subsequently dropped home games against Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita by 15- and eight-point margins, respectively.

“I really hope we can win one of these games, or multiple, because I think we can do really well,” Talleur said. “We just need to believe in ourselves. I think we get a little scared just by hearing the Trinity name, but I think we’re better than we think. We’re a little new to having this much pressure and this much playing time, and I think it’s something we’ll get better at.”

The matchup with Rosary, which received 33 points from Allison Clarke and survived the third-quarter loss of fellow senior captain Kayla Borgett to an apparent leg injury, proved Talleur’s logic in microcosm.

After suffering 10 turnovers in the first quarter while falling into an 18–8 hole, JSerra outscored the Royals in each subsequent period, including 20–16 in the final eight minutes.

“We usually have slow starts, but we hustle, and we play really good defense, and I think that’s what gets us in the game,” Santos told The Epoch Times. “We know the teams in the Trinity League are really good, so for us, we just have to think of them as any other team. Our coaches know and we know that we can play with any team.”

Freshman Addie Nolan (30) plays for the JSerra Catholic High School’s girls’ basketball team in a recent game. (Courtesy of Dylan Stewart)

Santos and Talleur scored 14 points apiece for the Lions. Fellow freshmen Eden Hoff had a team-high 16 and Addie Nolan added 10. The team’s only other four points came from sophomore Katie Knauft.

“They’re the foundation,” Ms. Butler said. “Last year, the program was starting from scratch again. We won no games. Seeing them grow, I’m even excited for off-season, just to help them keep getting better and better, so by the time they’re juniors, they’re teaching incoming freshmen. It’s just setting that culture, having them become leaders and just better young women.”

While plenty of possibilities remain for what JSerra might accomplish this season, it’s hard not to think about the future.

“From summer camp to now, it’s just been such a big difference in our growth,” Santos said. “That makes me really excited to see the next three years.”