Three year varsity junior has nearly 1,000 points and a life outside basketball
Mira Costa girls basketball sharpshooter Allie Navarette is nearing the 1,000 point mark in only her junior year, thanks to countless hours at Mustang practices, a shooting coach and playing club ball. And still she makes time to volunteer with the Friendship Circle, which matches her with special needs students and their families, for one-to-one peer mentoring and social programs.
“Ever since I volunteered to help teach basketball to the kids I have absolutely fallen in love with all of them and now I attend the Friendship Circle club meetings at school, volunteer for sporting activities and attend their photo-shoots,” Navarette said. “Being around them is so rewarding and I really consider myself lucky for being able to become so close to them. Sometimes I’ll miss a layup, then think about kids who can’t even hit the rim. It makes me appreciate the things I take for granted.”
“Allie is like a pied-piper. The Friendship Circle kids flock to her,” said Mustang head coach John Lapham, who has watched Navarette’s leadership skills evolve since she became one of three freshman to play on his varsity squad two years ago.
Navarette said Lapham holds every player accountable, which has made her a better team leader. With only three returning varsity players on this year’s squad, the eyes of opposing coaches – along with the Mustang boosters – are on Navarette.
She led Mira Costa in points (14.8 per game) and rebounds (5.6 per game) last season, leading the Mustangs to the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA championship game while averaging 17.2 points per game in the postseason.
In this year’s Bay League opener at Palos Verdes on Jan. 12, Navarette was double- and triple teamed, allowing longtime friend and three-year varsity member junior guard Halle Maeda to score 21 points in a 43-33 victory.
Navarette still managed 12 points and at press time was only 47 points short of reaching the 1,000 point mark.
“I didn’t know there was a 1,000 point club when I was younger,” Navarette said. “I’m really excited about it and am so proud, not only for myself, but for my teammates who have made it possible.”
She hopes to make a run at Mira Costa’s all-time point record held by Mikah Maly-Karros, who set the mark of 2,256 in 2008.
Navarette’s success on the hardwood almost didn’t materialize. She said she was a better soccer player growing up, competing on AYSO, club and select teams.
“With soccer and basketball played during the same season, I had to make a decision,” Navarette said. “Because of my height (she is now 6-feet); I chose basketball when I was in 5th grade.”
The Torrance resident transferred from Calle Mayor to Manhattan Beach Middle School to begin 6th grade.
She is urging her younger sister Mika, a 2nd grader at Manhattan Beach’s Pennecamp Elementary who is into dance, to give basketball a try.
“Mika attends all of my games,” Allie said. “She is also the first to critique my performance afterward.”
Navarette credits her height to her mother Stephanie Martin, who also is 6-feet tall, but said her athletic genes come from her father Mike Navarette, a former basketball and football player.
“My dad introduced me to basketball when I was 5 years old,” Allie said. “He coached a team of me and a my friends in Manhattan Beach Youth Basketball. He’s always been a big part of my life.”
Navarette began playing club ball in 4th grade and currently competes for Orange County-based Cal Swish. While she considers her height an asset, Navarette feels the strength of her game is her outside shooting, which forces opposing teams to alter their strategy.
“I’m working on getting lower on my dribbling,” Navarette explained. “In high school I’m one of the taller players, but in club, I’m on the shorter side.”
Navarette said making Mira Costa’s varsity team as a freshman was a goal of hers. She attended numerous Mustang games when she was in middle school, watching stars Mikah Maly-Karros, Megan Richardson, Amanda Johnson and Kylie Nakamine.
In 2013, Navarette joined Alexa Underwood and Maeda as three freshmen who gained valuable playing time for the Mustangs. That year, the team reached the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship game and the quarterfinals of the State Regional tournament.
Navarette credits that season’s senior leaders Camille Mills and Michelle Lanterman in helping her deal with pressure and become a leader, herself.
“There was some resentment among upper-class players about having three freshmen on the team,” Navarette recalled. “But Camille and Michelle treated us as teammates, not just freshman. It was a roller-coaster season, but they were so helpful in teaching us how to play at a highly-competitive level.”
Navarette thinks back to that season when mentoring younger players on this year’s Mustang squad.
“I’m extremely competitive and sometimes I forget I’m a team leader and role model,” Navarette admitted. “I’m working on becoming more vocal and positive. Sometimes I can be hard on other players.”
Lapham is pleased with the growth he has seen in his power forward.
“Allie has developed a great deal as a scorer and overall as a basketball player. She’s added a variety of inside moves, really improved her outside shot and also developed more toughness in the post,” Lapham said. “Despite her relatively slender frame, she is much more willing to bang with post defenders than she was last season.”
Navarette and her teammates are preparing for their Jan. 26 showdown at Redondo, the first of two Bay League meetings between the rivals. The Mustangs look to avenge last season’s three consecutive losses to the Sea Hawks.
In the regular-season finale, Redondo captured the Bay League crown with a thrilling 40-39 home victory, then beat Mira Costa 60-37 in the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship game and eliminated the Mustangs 46-31 in the State Regional semifinals.
“Redondo will be our toughest competition in the Bay League,” Navarette said. “But if you really want something, you can get it. Even though our record is not as good at this point (9-5 at press time), we have a very young team and it’s better to make mistakes earlier than later in the season.”
Lapham feels confident after his team played what he called a “fairly tough non-league schedule.”
“Having a scorer of Allie’s talents has really paid off for our team,” Lapham said. “Opposing teams have to be aware of her at all times, and she gives us a great go-to option in a tight game. We are a very young team this season, having lost 11 players from last year’s varsity. Allie’s experience is invaluable. She’s already played in 15 CIF or State playoff games and this really gives our younger players a lot of confidence.”
In addition to her dad, Navarette credits her success to Cal Swish club coach Russ Davis and her shooting coach of six years Tony Hood.
“My dad has always been there for me,” Navarette said. “He is a great motivator, pushing me to the next level and driving me to practices and games. He made me a strong believer in ‘always be a leader, and not a follower.’”
Playing club ball has been a high point of Navarette’s career, allowing her to play with elite players from outside the South Bay and travel throughout the United States. She said she has in depth talks with Coach Russ Davis not only about basketball, but life in general.
“Allie is very athletic and plays extremely hard,” Davis said. “Her offense is coming around but I think her strength is how she competes and goes all out. She has a bright future and she will make a college coach happy one day. I love coaching Allie because she always gives 100 percent.”
Navarette said she has become the person she is today thanks to close friends, having a strong relationship with her grandmother while growing up and her mother who “has helped me deal with being a teenager.”
Navarette is hoping for a basketball scholarship and has been talking with some schools, but feels in no hurry to make a decision.
The U.S history buff said teaching is a potential career choice.
“One thing is certain,” Navarette said, “my future will include basketball and helping kids.”
