SANTA CLRA, Calif. – Raquel Avila of the Broncos women's basketball team is enjoying more playing time this 2012-13 season as one of the starters. The Broncos are now 12-10 overall thus far and are playing hard out on the court. Avila (RA) shared with Santaclarabroncos.com (SCB) how her second year as a Bronco has been and the motivation she gains from her teammates. The team hits the road now to play against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 7.

Click here for the 2012-13 season schedule. 

SCB: This is your second year as a Bronco. How is it different than your first year?

RA: First, I'm getting more playing time this year than last year so my role on the team has changed a little bit and I'm just trying to play that role the best I can. Secondly, I'm not a freshman anymore so I don't have to deal with any more of the freshman responsibilities like filling up water bottles and taking the equipment out. Being a sophomore is awesome!

SCB: Did you/do you have any personal goals for this season?

RA: One goal that I have for this season that I'm sure many of my teammates share is post-season play. Our team has improved a lot since last year in a lot of different areas and I feel like we have a great opportunity to go far this year. We have many different pieces to the puzzle that is our team and when we are able to put all those pieces together we can be very good.

SCB: What motivates you to push yourself?

RA: The main motivation I have to push myself is my teammates. We play for the girl next to us, not just for ourselves. If we take a play off or don't put in 100% effort, we are not only let down ourselves, but our team. If someone looks like they aren't giving their all, we make sure to get on each other in a productive way. We fight for each other out there on the court everyday in practice and in games.

SCB: What is the team atmosphere like on and off the court?

RA: Off the court, we're all a bunch of goofballs. We like to give each other a hard time but it's all in good fun. I've never been on a team that got along so well. On the court, we're all very competitive with each other. We want to beat each other in every drill, in every possession. We sometimes get into it with each other on the court but 10 minutes later we'll be laughing it up on the sideline. It's a good atmosphere to play in because it forces you to push yourself.

SCB: What do you want the SCU community to know about you and your team?

RA: What I want the SCU community to know about my team is that we're fun to watch so everybody should do their best to come out and support us! We always make it an interesting game!

GO BRONCOS!