“She shoots, she scores!”  

Three 14-year old freshmen, Audrey Moulton, Kelani Yuto, and Erica Adams, have surfaced as some of the top contributors on Cal High’s incredible women’s varsity basketball team.

The team currently sits in second place in the EBAL and boasts a 20-5 overall record. With such a young core of players, the Grizzlies have high hopes for a long playoff run this year and sustained success for years to come.

The NCS playoffs will begin next Tuesday.

“I think our team looks really good and, with our new coaching staff, can be good for a really long time,” said Moulton. “We can build a legacy at Cal, and I’m looking forward to the next four years.”

Moulton and Yuto are the second and third leading scorers on the squad, averaging 10.7 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. 

Moulton, also known as “Wildfire,” wears jersey No. 5 and plays guard and power forward. 

She leads the team in steals, with a total of 121 (4.8 per game) and offensive rebounds, with 84. She is shooting a ridiculous 47 percent from the field, including 50  percent from two-point range. 

Her top overall performance of the season came in a victory over Carlmont on Dec. 1, when she finished with a triple-double, (19 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 steals).

Her highest scoring game of the season came in a blowout win over Alameda on Dec. 10, when she poured in 20 points. 

Moulton, who  has been playing basketball since fourth grade, has always played a few different sports. She played soccer and softball when she was younger, but she  has stuck with basketball because it was the most fun and physical of the three.

Moulton said she usually puts in an extra hour of practice and a half hour of weights and conditioning daily. 

Her favorite aspects of basketball are the contact, competitiveness, and the fact that one can still benefit the team without scoring. 

Despite her amazing success this season, Moulton still feels that she still needs to work on her aggressiveness on both offense and defense and look for open passes, as well as improve her overall quickness when playing.

She plans on continuing her basketball career after high school.

Moulton expressed that it is really fun being on the varsity team as a freshman.

“It’s really exciting to see the younger players come in and make the program stronger,” said Moulton.

Moulton isn’t the only star freshman player on Cal’s varsity team. She is also accompanied by Yuto, a point guard and shooting guard. 

Yuto, who wears No. 20, has been dubbed “set-shot,” but new nicknames are currently under consideration.

She is second on the squad with 40 three-point shots made, including an impressive shooting percentage of 40 percent from beyond the arc.

She also has established herself as one of the team’s most dependable shooters from the free throw line, boasting a 71 percent shooting percentage from the charity stripe.

Like many of her teammates, she also practices on the weekends in addition to team practices, which keeps her busy during the week.

As a freshman, Yuto does not take this experience of playing on varsity for granted for one second.

“I think it’s really cool, and it’s really a blessing,” said Yuto, who began playing basketball in the fifth grade.  “I’m proud to be on the team.”

Some of her top performances on the season include a 26-point outburst against Silver Creek on Nov. 29 and a 22-point night on Jan. 20 against Granada, when she finished 6-of-8 on three-point shots. 

She described her favorite part about playing basketball as “being with the team, and having other girls to work and play with”.

Yuto would jump at the chance to play basketball after high school if the opportunity presented itself.

She acknowledged that she still needs to work on her left hand shooting and dribbling, being more explosive, and giving maximum effort on defense throughout the entire game.

“We’re having a good season, and I hope to continue how we’re doing and continue making history for our school,” said Yuto.

Adams is the third freshman on the varsity team, where she plays point guard and shooting guard. She has been given the nickname “Golden Grizzly”.

Wearing jersey No. 10, Adams ranks second on the team in assists with 63 and third in steals with 55.

Adams has been playing basketball since fourth grade, when her friends introduced the sport to her.

Outside of daily team practices, Adams usually puts in an extra two to three hours of practice each day. 

Being a freshman on the varsity team has been a really exciting experience for her.

“I know that I got a lot on my shoulders ‘cause I can’t let my team down,” said Adams.

All three ladies have shown to have incredible speed, amazing offensive and defensive capabilities, and unwavering fearlessness on the court. With their improving skillsets, the women’s varsity basketball program has the potential to be a powerhouse in EBALs for years to come. 

Yuto stated that the program’s future will be “crazy” and “even more fun than it is now.”