For sophomore Gema Ruiz Lopez, basketball started as a family tradition in third grade with CYO.

“I just did it because my older brothers have always played basketball,” she said.

Her initial motivation came from her siblings, but over time, her reasons for playing evolved.

“At first, I had to do it because of my siblings,” Ruiz Lopez said. “But then, after, I really enjoyed all the cheering I got when I scored or stole the ball. It’s just something that made me glad to do.”

After attending Holy Redeemer Catholic School for both elementary and middle school, where the basketball team had no tryouts, Ruiz Lopez encountered a different reality entering high school. Tryouts meant uncertainty, and her performance on the first day as a freshman didn’t ease her nerves. 

“Coming into high school and knowing there was cuts, it made me anxious,” she said. “I remember the first day of freshman tryouts, I wasn’t really doing the best, and after I got the results that I got into the team, I just got my confidence [up more].”

Now on JV, she handles two positions that demand different skill sets: point guard, which requires her to help orchestrate the offense, and shooting guard, which puts her in the primary scoring position.

“For the point guard, you’re leading everything sort of,” Ruiz Lopez said. “You’re starting the play; you’re the first one that does it.” 

While shooting guard is a lot simpler, “you just try to find your shot,” she said.

Beyond the physical demands, one of the biggest challenges Ruiz Lopez faces in basketball is self-comparison.

“I think the sport, it’s just hard, especially if you’re comparing yourself to others, how they’re either better at defense or offense,” she said. “It’s like knowing that you’re replaceable between whatever you do.”

Her strategy for handling doubt draws on her history with the sport.

“I just think about all the years that I’ve been doing basketball and how much effort I’ve put into it,” she said. “So I try to not let it get to my head.”

The team practices just about every single day, and while Saturdays typically serve as rest days, sometimes they’ll practice through then as well. One notable aspect of practice being that JV and varsity teams train together, creating opportunities for competition between them.

“We do a lot of scrimmages, which I think it really pushes both of us, both varsity and JV, because we both have our strengths,” she said.

Each practice tends to follow a similar structure, building from the fundamentals to situations closer to in-game experiences.

“Usually, we start with warm-ups, then we go into the defense things, and then, towards the end, we scrimmage with varsity,” she said. “Some days we start off warming up together, both JV and varsity, and we do most of the things together until the end, where we just separate and scrimmage by [ourselves].”

While not everyone is able to stay for longer practices, Ruiz Lopez notes how they help cultivate the relationships between the team. Late practices, which run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., create additional time for the team to spend together.

“We’re all friends,” she said. “We make a lot of jokes. We’re always together, and especially those who stay for late practices at school. We have a tight bond.”

Those extra hours add up over the course of a season.

One game this season that’s become a standout moment for Ruiz Lopez was against Centennial High School, where they landed a 61-17 victory.

That game remains her favorite memory of the season so far because “we were just all working together,” she said. “We were trying new things, and I think the season is going great so far.”

The basketball season runs through March. During that time, “My goal is to make more shots and have a tighter bond with the team,” she said.

When she’s not on the court, Ruiz Lopez bakes desserts, especially cheesecake. She also joins her younger brother at the park, where they play basketball, soccer, or flag football, depending on which sport he’s in season for.

Beyond high school, Ruiz Lopez plans to continue playing basketball, either on a college team or through club sports. Her older brother, Luis, has played a significant role in shaping her approach to the game, particularly in overcoming hesitation. 

“I used to be very shy in basketball,” she said. “If I ever got the ball passed through, I would just immediately pass it to someone else. He was training with me a lot, and he would teach me to … be more open-minded, to take the shot, and even if you miss it, keep going.”