Greyhounds beat Santa Maria to earn first girls basketball league title since 1997 

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero High girls basketball contest on Tuesday, Feb. 4, against the Santa Maria Saints, not only brought a 46-29 win for the Greyhounds, but a 2025 Ocean League championship. This is the first championship win for girl’s basketball at Atascadero High School (AHS) since it won the Los Padres League in 1997. The team accomplished becoming champions with dedicated training, teamwork, and a great group of coaches.

“It started early last summer when a group of young ladies gathered for the first spring workouts. I could tell there was something different with this year’s group,” stated Greyhounds head coach Steve Gee. “I also have a great team of coaches that work with these ladies on a daily basis on skill development. We started this season slow, but we have a saying as a team, ‘2 percent better every day,’ and that saying came to life with this group.” 

Gee was assisted by Sid Rodriguez, Kirt Perry, and Stacy McAlister in coaching this group of dedicated athletes and helping them accomplish becoming champions after a 28-year dry spell. 

“It has truly been an honor to see the dedication of this group from when we started two years ago to now,” Gee added. “We still have a long way to go and many plans to continue to grow this program.”

The Greyhounds, now Ocean League champions, consist of 13 female athletes who have worked hard to become the team they are today. Those athletes are Whitney Jeckell, Veronica Bermingham, Sophia Porter, Audrey Cohen, Mira Assemi, McKenna Nichols, Sarah Garcia, Laney Arnold, Nikki Reeves, Jacey George, McKenzie Pullen, Mia Purchase, and Julie Hunter.

“The true love that these ladies have for each other spills out onto the court. If you spent as much time as my assistant coaches and I have with this group, you would see that as well. These ladies have each other’s backs no matter what,” said Gee. “It has been truly amazing to work with this group. Their desire for more knowledge of the game and hunger to develop their skills is unmatched.”

Gee also said that without the athlete’s parents, they would not have been able to be the standouts they were this season. 

“They [the parents] have really shown up for this group at every game and have allowed the coaches to push these girls to the levels we know they can achieve,” he said.

Congratulations to the Greyhound girls basketball team on a championship season.

Featured Image: The Atascadero High girls basketball team celebrates after beating Santa Maria 46-29 to clinch the Ocean League title. Photo provided by Greyhound girl’s basketball