Friday nights in the fall bring droves of family members, fans and students out to football games. Students cram into student sections, bring props and dress according to whatever theme is dreamed up for the evening.
In the winter, the same process carries over to Friday night boys basketball games.
Mission League girls basketball teams are getting in on the action this season, too, as athletic programs are taking steps to bring bigger audiences to girls games.
“What’s exciting is a lot of people are just realizing (what) we already felt,” Notre Dame coach Jena Laolagi told reporters at Mission League media day. “We already have that excitement towards girls and women’s basketball. And now everyone’s just playing catch-up with us.”
Multiple Friday night games are on the schedule this season for Mission League teams including Notre Dame at Harvard-Westlake and Chaminade at Marlborough on Jan. 17 as well as Louisville at Harvard-Westlake and Sierra Canyon at Chaminade on Jan. 31.
Notre Dame also has three doubleheaders with the boys team this season that are outside of league play.
“Last year, we were playing a lot on on Mondays and Tuesdays and sometimes it’s really hard to get people to our games,” Chaminade coach Jason Ancrum said. “Having these Friday home games will bring bigger crowds and with media supporting it as well, we can start putting a name for our league out there.”
The popularity of women’s college basketball soared last season with a record-breaking 18.9 million viewers tuning in for the NCAA national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa. It was the most-watched basketball game at any level since 2019.
The success of the UCLA and USC women’s basketball programs has also added to the excitement as well as star players like USC’s Juju Watkins and UCLA’s Kiki Rice. Both teams are moving to the Big Ten Conference and are both ranked within the top five heading into the season, which puts an even brighter spotlight on women’s basketball in Southern California.
“There’s a lot of momentum from different angles,” UCLA coach Cori Close told reporters on Tuesday. “And now coming in having two top-five teams in Los Angeles, it’s like the Final Four in November here with Notre Dame and South Carolina coming to town. It’s not a matter of hey, come help us build it. We’re here.”
Mission League basketball teams could further take advantage of that momentum with showcases and tournaments. Notre Dame and Louisville competed in the Catholic Coastal Classic at Crypto.com Arena last season, for example.
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Events like the Trinity-Mission League Showcase, which will be held at Intuit Dome, could be one option if the event continues in the future.
The coaches at Mission League media day are happy with the small steps to further showcase girls basketball but seemed in agreement that more can be done, whether it’s more Friday night games, more doubleheaders or more exposure at big-time events like the Trinity-Mission League Showcase.
“I think the real question is: Why aren’t we playing in that sort of event? We mentioned the league switched to getting us Friday night games,” Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said. “I think we have one on our schedule. So thanks, but why isn’t there more? This is a narrative we could all have with our athletic directors.”
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