"Everyone's your teammate, everyone's your family," said Napa High's Brittany Barbos, about this season's varsity girls basketball team.

But the Indians girls squad consists of far more than just teammates. They don't have a practice without laughs, a road trip without songs or a day without goofing around. They also have a lot of success. The team is 26-1 as it heads into the playoffs tonight at home, against Burbank of Sacramento.

That's because they know when to take things seriously. They get glances from head coach Darci Lewis and assistant coach Michelle Lewis when their laughter gets out of hand during practices, and they've figured out when to pipe down quickly. Otherwise, they have suicide drills -- relentless sprints from one end of the court to the other.

"They can turn it on and off," Michelle Lewis said. "They're more mature about it."

Monticello Empire League Co-Most Valuable Player and starter Nicoletta Geyer added, "We'll start laughing and sometimes it gets out of control and we get in trouble. But most of the time it's fine. We take (basketball) seriously. In practice we have to behave or we run. Games, we're always taking seriously when we get on the court."

Under the Lewis sisters' direction, the varsity squad has won three MEL championships in three seasons. Darci Lewis, 28, was recently named the MEL's Coach of the Year.

"They're the best coaches," 2004-2005 Napa County Player of the Year Katie Keilig said. "I don't have any complaints. They do a great job."

Alena Good added, "They're really young, it's easy to relate to them. I think this team is really special."

A family atmosphere

Having two coaches in their 20s adds to the camaraderie of the young team. This season, they have six seniors (Barbos, Geyer, Keilig, Karyn Franco, Heather Gunderson and Lindsey Dreher) and seven juniors (Good, Jacqueline Zimny, Nichole Weitz, Nina Pardo, Bonnie Freeland, Vanessa Priest and Emily Baraff).

"It's so much more enjoyable having a team that gets along and works hard," Darci Lewis said. "It's definitely better than a lot of places. What we lack maybe in experience we make up in being close to them (in age). It works out well."

Michelle Lewis, 25, added, "It helps that it wasn't too long ago we were playing. It's so nice that we've had (a team that gets along) for the three years we've been coaching. There aren't any problems. ... There isn't any off-the-court stuff that's brought to practice or games. It's stress-free."

Darci and Michelle Lewis' father, Denny, was once Napa High's varsity boys basketball coach. Denny Lewis shows his support by attending all of the girls' games. Much of what the Lewis sisters teach their players comes from what they learned from their father.

"Almost everything I teach comes from my dad," Darci Lewis said. "We definitely have put in other things, like our offense. Our defense is all from our dad and our flex motion that we run. Also, how he treats his players and runs his program. He was really dedicated. He was strict but caring, and that's how we try to do things. That's exactly what we exude to our players. I don't remember life without (basketball). Ever since I was a little girl it's always been about basketball."

The family atmosphere has been passed down to the Indians squad.

First year varsity players Pardo, Zimny and Baraff were intimidated when making the step to the varsity squad, but were welcomed with open arms by their senior teammates.

Pardo appreciates the time the team has together before the start of the season. They typically travel to camps and have time to bond and get to know one another -- and it helps the transition from JV to varsity.

"At first if was really intimidating because they all knew each other," Baraff said. "It's inspiring playing with such a tight-knit group. It's really good energy."

New face, key place

This season, MEL First-Team member Dreher was new to Napa High after transferring from Davis, where she also played basketball.

She knew fellow MEL First-Teamer Keilig before she moved, but was anxious about being on a new team with 11 others she'd never met.

Once practices started, she settled in with the rest of the goofballs.

"They're just all pretty friendly," Dreher said. "(Barbos) is pretty funny. She's goofy and random. There's a lot of laughing. Pretty much everything is funny. It's just a fun team. I like how we come together against good teams and overcome. Darci and Michelle are awesome."

Baraff said her season highlight came in a non-league game against Terra Linda, when she was on the bench. The Indians had been struggling so she and the rest of the bench stood up and cheered to motivate the five on the court.

It worked. Napa won 51-43.

MEL honorable mention selection Gunderson's off the court highlight came when she and Keilig teamed up against their coaches at Funland, during some off-time at the Folsom Lady Bulldog Classic in December.

Both teams squared off with rubber hammers, but they disagree about who the winner was.

Gunderson claims she and Keilig were victorious, but Michelle and Darci Lewis declare themselves the victors.

Keilig's high point on the court was having the team go undefeated during the non-league portion of the schedule.

"We weren't expecting to go undefeated," Keilig said. "We expected to compete. And we definitely did. We were really proud of that."

Freeland is thrilled the team has come as far as it has. The Indians finished the regular season 26-1 overall and 14-1 in MEL play.

Plus, Napa beat its cross-town rival Vintage High all three matchups this season -- 58-34, 57-40 and 65-50.

For Weitz, beating Vintage at the Crushers' gym is more than just a victory because "it's more humiliating (for Vintage)."

Last Thursday, during a team dinner at Freeland's house before Big Game No. 3, several players congregated with air pellet guns and ran around shooting them. Others jumped on the trampoline in the backyard while some talked about that night's game.

Armed and ready to go, Gunderson sat in the back of the limousine waiting outside to escort the team to Vintage, and shot plastic pellets at the dining room window of Freeland's house.

Keilig said she has "met all her good friends from basketball." With the time commitment needed to be on a winning team, Keilig relishes opportunity to spend so much time with girls who have the same passion for basketball but also share personality traits and quirks.

"We're around each other all year," Keilig said. "We all love basketball ,so that's how we become so close. We laugh all the time. I don't know anyone funnier than us. We all have the same sense of humor. There aren't any egos, either."

And the winner is ...

Some players nominate particular girls as the funniest or goofiest teammate, whereas others can't seem to decide who the wittiest is.

"They're all different," said Darci Lewis. "A different night, there's a different goofier girl. They are absolutely hysterical."

Geyer says that fellow senior starter and MEL Second-Team member Franco is the "biggest clown."

Franco admits she has her moments, but defers to other teammates as being the funniest.

"We all have a really different personalities, but similar," Franco said. "We just think stupid things are funny. We don't take a lot of things seriously, but we do when we have to."

Baraff believes Geyer is the biggest joker and is the one always making her laugh.

"I think this team is the most tightly knit team," Baraff said. "We're a big family that's comfortable with each other."

Priest adores her teammates, and is glad they get along and leave personal issues off the court once it's game time.

She also admires the ability the players have to sense when something is bothering a teammate, and know what to do to shake them out of it.

"Everyone gets along and doesn't fight with each other," Priest said. "I think everyone is a joker. When we're all together we go crazy and have a lot of fun. Everybody will notice if something's wrong. They're all there for us. Everybody supports you. When you're there you just want to concentrate on basketball, and they help you do that."

Alena Good adds, "I really enjoy it. It's the best thing. We're all so close off the court that it carries onto the court."