“Mental toughness, extra effort.”

That’s the motto for the women’s basketball team at City College as it prepares for the season opener on Nov. 15 at the Sports Pavilion.

City College has reached the playoffs eight of the past nine years and is looking to continue that trend of success this season.

Head Coach Sandrine Krul leads a team of women that are “dialed in,” specifically the returning sophomores.

“I cannot be more proud of our sophomores and how they have stepped up,” said Krul. “I don’t even have to coach our freshmen.”

This fall, City College played in a league called the “non-traditional” season. That means that the games don’t technically count, but they are still a good testimony for how well the team will do for the regular season.

In the non-traditional season, City College went 7-1, which is very promising start, and yet another reason Krul is ecstatic about the team.

Krul said she has a different philosophy than many coaches; she focuses on the “team” aspect of basketball rather than having one “superstar.” She utilizes a 14-player rotation, which is an unusual strategy in college basketball.

“I don’t recruit superstars. I don’t need anybody scoring 40 points a game; I just want players that work together as a unit. That’s why I hate Kobe Bryant,” she said with a laugh.

The Vaqueros are relatively young with nine freshmen on the roster, but that inexperience doesn’t seem to worry the team.

“Our freshmen are very smart,” said sophomore Mhiah Vickers. “They’re extremely quick learners so that makes it easy for us.”

In fact, four of the freshmen commute from Oxnard, taking a 5:30 a.m. bus every day to make it on time for practice.

“When my players show that type of dedication, I get so protective of them because of how hard I know they work,” said Krul. “They never come tired, and never make excuses. I can’t wait for Nov. 15.”

The season opener is at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, as they host the SBCC Crossover tournament at the Sports Pavilion. The women will play San Diego City College as they begin their quest for another successful season.