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Marina’s girls basketball program celebrated one of its all-time great players Thursday following a victory at home.
In a festive ceremony featuring former teammates and members of the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, the Vikings retired the No. 11 jersey of former Orange County player of the year Natalie Nakase after a 59-38 victory against Edison.
Nakase, now an assistant coach with the Aces, built her foundation for a trailblazing basketball career at Marina.
“A special night for a really special woman,” Marina girls basketball coach Danny Roussel said.
Former Marina High basketball player Nadia Mojica, left, hugs her former Marina High teammate and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the Marina High School gym in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
1998 Marina High basketball star and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase reacts as she watches a video of former teammates, coaches and others congratulating Nakase on her Marina High jersey retirement ceremony at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Andy Myers, friend and classmate of former Marina basketball star Natalie Nakase, talks about Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Marina girls basketball head coach Danny Roussel speaks about 1998 Marina basketball star and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Former Marina High basketball player Chanda Maroney speaks about her former teammate Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A banner hanging in the Marina High gym commemorates the last time the Marina High girls basketball team won the 1998 CIF-SS Girls Basketball Championship during a jersey retirement ceremony for former 1998 Marina basketball player and current Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Nakase helped lead the Marina basketball team to the 1998 championship. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Catherine Park, left, takes a cell phone photo of Sara Kohrogi, center, with 1998 Marina High basketball star Natalie Nakase prior to a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Former Marina High girls basketball coach Pete Bonny speaks about 1998 Marina basketball star and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
1998 Marina High girls basketball player Chanda Maroney, left, and former teammate Natalie Nakase react to a comment by former teammate Nadia Mojica during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Andy Myers, friend and classmate of former Marina basketball player Natalie Nakase, gives her a hug after delivering a speech about his former classmate during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Marina girls basketball head coach Danny Roussel poses for a photo with 1998 Marina basketball star and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Marina High girls basketball teams pose for a photo with 1998 Marina High basketball star Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tyler March speaks about former Marina High girls basketball star and Aces coach Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Former Marina High 1998 girls basketball player Nadia Mojica speaks about her former teammate Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Former Marina High basketball star Natalie Nakase, center, poses for a photo with former teammates and coaches during a jersey retirement ceremony Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Edison High head girls basketball coach Stephanie Ontiveros reminisces when she first met former Marina High girls basketball star Natalie Nakase during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Marina High 1998 basketball star and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase, left, shares a laugh with Las Vegas Aces players Kierstan Bell, center, and Jackie Young, right, during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Las Vegas Aces WNBA players, from left, Jackie Young, Kierstan Bell, and Kiah Stokes react when speaker Nadia Mojica, a former 1998 Marina High teammate of Natalie Nakase, reveals that Nakase was a huge fan of the Spice Girls during a jersey retirement ceremony for former Marina basketball player Natalie Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Coach for the WNBA team the Las Vegas Aces and 1998 Marina High basketball star Natalie Nakase, right, shares a laugh with former Villa Park basketball player Missy Bynon, left, and former UCLA teammate Tracey Bailey prior to a jersey retirement ceremony for former Nakase in the gym at Marina High School Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Marina girls basketball head coach Danny Roussel gives 1998 Marina basketball player and Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase a hug during a jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Natalie Nakase, WNBA basketball coach for the Las Vegas Aces and former Marina High basketball player speaks during her jersey retirement ceremony in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Nakase was part of the Marina High School 1998 CIF-SS Girls Basketball Championship team. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Former Marina basketball player and current Las Vegas Aces coach Natalie Nakase, center, meets with the Marina freshman girls basketball team prior to the jersey retirement ceremony for Nakase in the gym at Marina High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
As a 5-foot-1 guard, Nakase earned county player of the year honors in 1998 after leading Marina to its first CIF-SS title.
Nakase joined the UCLA women’s team as a walk-on. She became a three-year starter with the Bruins, claiming honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2002.
Nakase later played professionally, becoming the first Asian-American player in the NWBL.
As a professional coach, she served as an assistant with the L.A. Clippers before helping the Aces claim a second consecutive title last season.
The ceremony Thursday featured players from the Aces, Nakase’s former high school and college teammates and her high school coach Pete Bonny, now an assistant at Mater Dei.
Marina pushed its record to 16-8 overall by defeating Edison. Sophomore Rylee Bradley scored a game-high 24 points and junior Maria Tejeda added 16 for the Vikings, the reigning CIF State SoCal Division V regional champion.
