After winning the Ocean League championship the last three years, Santa Monica High’s girls basketball team will face stiff competition this season.
There are two reasons. Two Samohi stars – league MVP Daisy Feder and high-scoring Katy Keating – graduated. And Inglewood, which beat Samohi last season, has three transfers to go with its returning players.
While Inglewood is considered the favorite, an experienced Culver City team is also regarded as a contender.
However, Samohi is off to a good start. The Vikings won a Brea-Olinda Tournament game in the first week of December from Antioch Deer Valley, 61-49.
The Vikings’ key players are all-league Elesse Brandis, senior Jenne Harding (both 5-foot-10), and junior point guard Thea Lemberger, who started in her sophomore year.