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By Ray Hamill — The future of girls basketball in The Friendly City appears to be in good hands.

The Fortuna Middle School seventh grade girls team recently concluded a very impressive season with a perfect record against other seventh-grade teams in the area.

The finished up with a record of 17-3, with their only three losses coming against eighth-grade teams.

And, according to head coach Jake Hayes, if this group of girls stay together they have a bright future on the court.

“It’s a very athletic group, and look out next season,” he said. “These girls are going to be looking sharp again if they all stick together.”

The way they played this season suggests the coach is right.

The young Fortuna players won all of the seventh-grade tournaments they competed in, taking home championship pennants at the Lady Comet Classic, the Bay City Classic and the St. Bernard’s Knights Fall Classic.

And they achieved all of that with a balanced lineup on a seven-player roster that featured seven true MVPs.

“At the end of each tournament, they gave out MVP and two all-tournament (awards), and I told them they could have gone to any one of them,” the coach said. “There really wasn’t that much that set them apart.

“They all stepped up when they needed to.”

A talented roster included team captains Izzy Morris and Audrey Hayes, as well as Temperance Torrez, Evelina Robbins, Sophia Diaz, Autumn Atkins and Gabby Lopez.

And without a dominant center on the team, all seven players showcased their versatility all season long.

“That was part of why they did so well,” Jake Hayes said. “They could all pretty much play every position.

“We had several girls that could handle the ball well and a few defensive minded girls.”

They also had fun playing together, but were always focused for their games.

“When it came to game time, they put their game faces on,” the coach said. “And they really competed. I think they definitely fed off each other.

“You could tell that they came to play.”