It’s only appropriate considering both squads are coming off their best seasons in recent memory. The Trojans open the season on Friday against Mission in the Mission College tournament, while the Bulldogs open up at De Anza on Saturday. CSM made a great impression during the summer season, and Skyline also looked solid. Here’s a look at both teams, with last year’s record in parentheses.

CSM (17-13)

The Bulldogs made the playoffs last season for the first time in five or six years, and they did it with an all freshmen lineup.

It’s believed to be the first time in California Community College history that a squad with an all freshmen lineup advanced to the postseason. There are even greater expectations entering this season because CSM returns the eight freshmen and also added another promising recruiting class.

Combine those factors and you have 15 players on the roster, one of the largest CSM teams since Michelle Warner became the head coach 13 years ago. It’s no wonder Warner is cautiously optimistic that the team can surpass last year’s win total and possibly win a game or more in the playoffs.

“A lot of people are talking about our potential, but to me potential means nothing,” Warner said. “You have to go out and play and show what that potential means.”

And that’s definitely what the Bulldogs plan to do from the get-go. Warner doesn’t have a starting lineup set in stone, but there are plenty of players who will make an impact before season’s end. Warner will be able to play any number of different styles. She’ll have one group able to full-court pressure, trap and push the tempo at breakneck speed.

Her second set of players will be more of a half-court team able to pound the ball inside and rebound. Shooting guard Erica Hayes led the team in scoring last year, averaging 17 points per game. Hayes and two-guard Shakara Haynes look to be even more explosive this season.

Raphy Buenafe brings stability to the point guard position, and Alisa Rhodes is another talented playmaking guard/forward.

Alisi Niupalau returns at center, and is one of three players on the roster — Kasia Jagusiak and Denise Won being the others — who are 5-foot-11 or taller, something Warner hasn’t seen in a while.

“It’s nice to see a six (in the height column),” Warner said.

Other impact players include Jackie Orje, Bianca Mercurio, Patricia Malaspina and Janisa Jones, who is one of the most talented players on CSM but struggling to find consistency. Jones is long, agile and can shoot, but at times she struggles to put it all together.

“Right now she’s totally inconsistent,” Warner said. “She can be in the starting lineup for sure, but she has to get more consistent everyday.”

As always, rebounding and turnovers will be the vital factors in determining how far the Bulldogs can go. The former shouldn’t be so much of an issue this year because CSM actually has some height. But the latter could still be an issue because the Bulldogs will look to play fast and furious.

A junior college women’s basketball team typically averages around 20 turnovers a game; if CSM can achieve that Warner will be happy because it will be forcing a ton of mistakes from their opponents. Over the weekend, CSM hosted a scrimmage involving a number of teams from around the Bay Area, and it committed only 17 turnovers against four opponents in what basically amounted to one full game.

“I don’t think we’ve been under 20 turnovers (in a game or practice) in five years,” Warner said. “Turnovers drive me nuts and limiting them is something we’ve harped on since Day One. If we can limit turnovers and improve our rebounding, we’ll be tough to beat.”

Skyline (24-7)

The Trojans are coming off their best season in school history, advancing to the round of 16 in the NorCal playoffs.

However, they lost their entire starting lineup and return only three players who saw any minutes from last season. Still, coach Trisha Hosley doesn’t expect anything less than another strong season.

“We’re going to be pretty good,” she said. “I’m really hopeful with this group. I got lucky because we’ve got some girls who really love the sport, and it’s showed in the past few months. They’re committed and that’s good to see.”

The bottom line is this: Skyline doesn’t have a true standout player like it has had in recent years but plenty of good ones. That can work one of two ways: One, the Trojans’ balance will be able to overcome any talent deficit, or two, Skyline could struggle because no one has the ability to create her own shot.

Hosley plans on the former coming to fruition. She’s looking for big things out of Jonah Lu, Noelani Gi, Tina Shiheiber, Rachelle Hwee and Courtney Chew. Lu and Shiheiber saw action last season, contributing in a variety of ways.

Lu can play both guard positions and is a relentless defender, while Shiheiber can score in transition and from the outside. Hwee will be looked upon to create shots, while Gi packs plenty of talent coming out of Sacred Heart Cathedral two years ago. This is going to be a small Skyline group, as most of its core players are 5-foot-7 and shorter. That means rebounding will be of the utmost concern.

“We’re going to be really short,” Hosley said. “It’s going to be our biggest weakness, but we always say it’s the heart that counts the most, not the size.”

To negate any height disadvantage, the Trojans will have to rely on their quickness and turn games into a track meet. Posts Thomas, Michelle Hafalla and Samantha Leung need to hold their own inside in order for Skyline to have a shot at repeating last year’s success.

“Last year was awesome and one of those great years,” Hosley said. “(It’ll be hard to repeat that) but I hope we can go past that and continually improve as a program. We’re looking to build a tradition here and keep on growing it.”