SMC Women’s Corsairs Bid Early Farewell to 2025-26 Season
Santa Monica College’s Women’s basketball team started its season with a win against Cerritos College on Nov. 1, 2025, but followed it with a five-game losing streak before attaining a victory over Los Angeles Southwest College on Dec 3. The team then endured a nine-game losing streak into January before beating West Los Angeles College on Jan 28.
The Corsairs forfeited their game against Glendale Community College on Feb. 7, before losing to Citrus College on Feb. 11. They forfeited from their final three matches of the season against Antelope Valley College, College of the Canyons, and West Los Angeles College, ending with a record of 3-21. This is the first premature season exit from a Corsairs basketball team since 2023.
Notable athletes from the previous season include shooting guard/power forward Ava Sweat, who scored 174 total points and recorded two double-doubles against Los Angeles Southwest and Citrus. Additionally, Swedish transfer Ellen Jonsson scored 259 points — the most of any player last season — and logged the most minutes played with 707.
Kadence Johnson recorded a field goal percentage of 41.9%, while Mika Kato tied with Sweat for the second-highest scoring average at 9.7 points per game, behind Jonsson’s 14.4.
The late-season exit was primarily attributed to multiple injuries sustained by athletes on the team. According to Sweat, it was primarily herself and Johnson that suffered injuries over the course of the season.
“I have two bad ankles. However, my left ankle, I ended up getting a Grade 3 sprain,” Sweat said.
She had been playing through the sprain throughout the season, alongside a third player she says was also injured. However, Sweat says she was not cleared to play before their College of the Canyons matchup, which ultimately marked the end of her season.
“If I played that game, I could’ve torn a ligament in my ankle…it was way too weak.”
Team size was also a big element of the season. The team's roster included a total of nine players, which is lower than a number of rival teams the Corsairs faced during the season.
The size difference was noticeable in their first three conference matches against Bakersfield College, Los Angeles Valley College, and Glendale Community College, respectively, where Corsair players logged heavy minutes on the court with little to no substitutions. Meanwhile, opposing teams, which carried 11-14 players, were able to make more frequent in-game substitutions.
“We’re still the same five in it, and then a whole other team is in, and then we’re playing against girls with fresh legs,” Sweat said. “We kind of had to roll with it, and that was the product of that.”
Only three returners are slated for the 2026-27 season, according to Sweat: freshman guards Leanna Ontiveros, Aaliyah Morse and Sweat herself. “I think we’re losing a lot of girls, but we’re also recruiting a lot of girls. So it’s gonna be a whole new team full of young freshmen.”
Sweat says that of the new recruits she has met, they have the desire to go “to the next level.” She looks forward to the opportunity to step into a larger leadership role on the team and having teammates that share her mindset.
“I’ll be able to have girls that — we’re all about, like, being in tandem,” Sweat said. “It’s that extra kind of, like, drive. And I really think that will reflect on a better season.”