Vista girls have strong 2021 as league play begins Tuesday

It's been a strong start for Vista del Lago's varsity girls' basketball team. The Eagles have won nine of 11 non-league games before Capital Athletic League play begins at home Tuesday against Sacramento High. The Eagles have only lost to perennial powers Folsom and Oak Ridge, but also earned the program's first win against the Trojans, 47-44, on Dec. 10. "We've checked all of our boxes so far and expectations have been met in preseason," Vista coach Marty Benjamin said. "I purposely made our schedule tougher this year because I knew we'd be good. I figured our record would be really good or if it wasn't, it's because we scheduled tougher. I'm really pleased. We lost to Oak Ridge, but also beat them for the first time. Against Folsom, I liked the way we handled their press, and we didn't let them run us out of the gym." The biggest concern for Benjamin about his team is its health and depth. For starters, he's only got nine players on his team. One of those players, sixth man Camryn Northcutt, is out indefinitely with some small foot fractures. Starting forward Linnea Jakubicka is set to return Tuesday from a dental issue, while starting point guard Alexa Moore is battling a sprained ankle. Because of the injury concerns, Benjamin and his staff decided to pull up Brynn Seale from the junior varsity team. "I can live with nine players, but only having eight makes me nervous," Benjamin said. The defending CAL champions, the Eagles figure to be the favorite to repeat as champions, but still have to go out and do it. They also have three non-league games remaining that will test them. Vista plays host to Folsom High again on Jan. 24 with home games following against Monterey Trail Feb. 4 and against Del Oro, Feb. 7 The biggest thing Benjamin wants to be sure of is that his team is ready to play next week. Tuesday's league opener at home against Sac High will be the team's first since Dec. 18.