The ladies of the Corona Del Sol Aztec basketball team took on their state rival, the Mountain View Toros, on Monday. 

Aztec coach Peter Salazar has a very young team, with two of the five starters being freshmen, and the other three only sophomores. That inexperienced showed in the 62-24 loss. 

The Aztecs totaled only one win in the past two seasons, while the Toros are coming off their best season in three years with nine wins.

On Monday, the Aztecs came out slow and only scored five points in the first quarter. This did not come as a surprise to Salazar as this has been a common theme for this young team. 

“We need a quicker start," Salazar said. "Our last three games we have not had a good start and we have had to play from behind and it has really hurt us. If we come out quicker, we’ll be in most games, we are just really really young."

The Aztecs got more comfortable as the game progressed, putting up seven, then 10 points in the following quarters. 

Although the score may not show many bright spots, the Aztecs did have some positive notes to take away from the game. 

In the third quarter during an inbound from under their own basket, Salazar could be heard shouting, “Box, Box!” 

In a moment's notice, the girls ran to their spots they had rehearsed and perfectly executed an inbound pass from Lizzy Lopez to Amiya Hunter for the easy layup. 

“Our ball movement and our defense was good," said Hunter. "We did a good job stopping [the Toros in transition]. I think that as the season goes on we are going to continue to get better as a team.”

Following the slow start by the Aztecs, the girls only gave up five points in the third quarter and nine points in the fourth, showing much improvement after giving up 24 in the first quarter and 18 in the second.  

“I'm looking forward to improving as a team and a program," said Kayla McDonald. 

With a team so young, Salazar is not focused on the wins and losses. Instead, he is focused more on the improvement and the fundamentals he sees within his team. 

“We need to limit the turnovers, but it’s all a learning experience," he said. "These kids are so young, we are looking at the bigger picture as a team going down the road.”

Salazar’s Aztecs look forward to traveling to Mesa to face the Mesa High Jackrabbits on Tuesday. The Jackrabbits have yet to play a regular-season game and are coming off a two-win season.