JUMP FOR JOY—The Royal High girls’ basketball team is in good spirits heading into Saturday night’s playoff opener at home against Ayala. Highlander teammates leaping, from left, are Mayrav Ben-Aderet, Brianna Reser, Mia Sasaki, Emily Garner, Aubree Mittel, Dallas Davidson, Ali Mosier, Adrianne Sloboh, Heather Tomaszewski and Mary Arezoo. Head coach Kinsley Mittel is in front. Royal went 16-10 during the regular season and finished tied for second in the Marmonte League standings. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers Royal High’s girls’ basketball team has caught a wicked case of Saturday night fever.

The Highlanders open the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs at home Saturday against Ayala of Chino Hills.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

John Travolta, aka Tony Manero, may or may not be in attendance. The Royal girls will certainly show up.

“We need to come out strong with a lot of intensity,” RHS senior center Heather Tomaszewski said. “We always say we need to play tough and together—we call it ‘T Squared.’

“On Saturday night we need to establish that Royal is here and that we’re going to play hard and we’re going to stay in this thing for as long as we can.”

Royal carries a 16-10 overall record into the postseason. Ayala is 12-15.

After dropping three of their final four Marmonte League contests, the Highlanders fell into a second-place tie with Agoura (both finished 10-4 in league).

Thousand Oaks claimed the league crown by winning 12 of 14 Marmonte matchups.

“ T. O. definitely deserved to finish first,” Royal senior point guard Ali Mosier said. “It would’ve been cool to share it with them though.”

The Highlanders climbed their way into the Marmonte’s upper echelon behind a collection of senior leaders that offer a wide variety of skill sets.

Senior shooting guard Aubree Mittel, the younger sister of head coach Kinsley Mittel, is the program’s long-range assassin.

Aubree Mittel leads RHS with 18.5 points per game and has knocked down a team-best 66 3-point bombs.

What makes this squad such a joy to play for, Aubree Mittel said, is its cohesiveness.

“Our team is so close,” she said. “After practices we hang out and do things together. Even when we don’t win, we still have so much fun together.”

Power forward Adrianne Sloboh is a senior standout down on the block.

Listed at a generous 5- foot- 7—“ I’m 6 foot,” she jokes—Sloboh uses her toughness, tenacity and quickness to overpower and outmaneuver taller post players.

“She’s such a little baller,” Mosier said of Sloboh. “Every game she does something effective for us.”

Sloboh is a rebounding machine—12.2 boards per game, tops on the team—but she also does plenty of damage with her rapid-fire hands, averaging more than five steals per outing.

“I’m really short for a post player. Everyone is always taller than me,” Sloboh said.

“ Sometimes ( opponents) assume I can’t get to a ball because I’m so much shorter than the person they’re passing to, so they’ll throw it in a little lower. That’s when I go for it. I just keep trying to steal the ball until they change what they’re doing.”

Tomaszewski, the senior center, works side-by-side with Sloboh down low.

At 5-foot-11, Tomaszewski can hold her ground in the paint. She’s blocked a team-leading 28 shots while averaging a doubledouble (15.5 points, 11.8 rebounds per game).

“What we lack in height we make up for in effort,” said Tomaszewski of RHS’ post players.

“I do what I can to be as strong as I can in the post. I’m probably stronger than a lot of the really tall girls that we play. And (Sloboh), it’s just amazing to see what she can do sometimes. She’s so quick and sneaky.”

Mosier is the vise that clamps everything together.

The point guard—one of a trio of four-year varsity seniors; Aubree Mittel and Tomaszewski are the others—rarely puts the ball in the basket but still makes a major impact on the floor.

Mosier is the Highlanders’ leader with 99 assists. More than racking up glossy statistics, Mosier’s responsibility is to keep the team’s offense flowing at a crisp, up-tempo pace.

“We all know that I’m not much of a shooter,” Mosier joked. “So I make sure that everyone gets as many points as they can.

“I like to pass the ball, get it up the floor fast and get people open.”

Sophomore small forward Brianna Reser joins Mosier, Mittel, Sloboh and Tomaszewski in the Highlanders’ starting lineup.

An athletic wing listed at 5-foot-10, Reser averages 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Senior forward Dallas Davidson, sophomore guard Emily Garner and freshman guard Mia Sasaki have served as Coach Mittel’s top bench options this season.

Senior guard Mary Arezoo and freshman guard Mayrav Ben- Aderet add depth.

“Our bench doesn’t get enough credit,” Tomaszewski said.

“They help us in practice and are always supportive during games. And if one of the starters gets in foul trouble, they’re always there to step up.”

Kinsley Mittel is in her third year coaching the varsity squad. She’s assisted by Blair Galbreath.

A 2003 Royal graduate, Coach Mittel was a four-year varsity basketball standout for the Highlanders before taking her talents to The Master’s College in Santa Clarita.

Although RHS lost two key contributors—sophomore forward Brooke Zamora and junior guard Sabrina Wiseman— to season-ending knee injuries before the year began, Coach Mittel still helped guide the Highlanders to their eighth winning season in as many years.

“It’s been a good season for us,” the coach said. “A lot of the girls, especially the seniors, have really stepped up. Some of them have been waiting for this chance after having upperclassmen ahead of them in previous years. . . .

“They’re a hardworking group that plays together as a team. It’s been a fun team to work with.”

On Saturday night, the Highlanders get to boogie down in their gym. Catch the fever, Simi Valley.