State top-ranked Giants roll past Taft for 23rd straight women's basketball win

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

The mood following the 23rd straight win by College of the Sequoias' women's basketball team was subdued -- if not downright somber -- in the aftermath of an injury to reigning all-state point guard Campbell Vieg.

The sophomore from Chico suffered what appeared to be a knee injury with 6 minutes and 14 seconds remaining in a Central Valley Conference game the state top-ranked Giants would go on to win 108-52 over Taft on Feb. 1 at Porter Field House.

"She's a special kid, a special human," Sequoias coach Tyler Newton said. "Obviously she's a great basketball player, and you hate to see anything like that happen."

Campbell had just secured a defensive rebound and was leading a fastbreak up the baseline near Sequoias' bench when her right knee buckled while attempting to cross Taft defender Mary Pahukoa. 

Campbell – who averages 13.5 points, 5.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game – fell to the court and grabbed at her right knee before rolling over onto her back, where she was looked over by Sequoias' Head Athletic Trainer Lisa Lorenzi.

After laying on the court for a couple minutes, Lorenzi and staff got Vieg onto her felt and helped her back to the training room for treatment. After the game, Vieg was wearing a brace on her right knee and was using crutches as she left the gym.

Newton said the extent of the injury, or whether Vieg will miss any time, was not immediately known after the game. The Giants, who have a 1 ½-game lead over second-place Fresno City (14-8, 5-1) in the CVC championship chase, return to action at 5 p.m. Feb. 5 at Reedley (13-10, 5-2).

Vieg is fourth in the state with 132 assists on the season. She transferred to Sequoias after helping Butte College go 30-2 while winning the Golden Valley Conference title and reaching the state semifinals last season. She was named second-team All-Northern California Regional after averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game for the Roadrunners. 

Vieg – along with Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle), Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers) and Karine Dhaliwal (Yuba) – all followed Newton from Butte to Sequoias after he landed the Giants' head coaching job in the spring of 2024.

"It hurts. She's our starting point guard. Our friend, obviously," Trigueiro said. "We're all hurting big time, and this definitely overshadows things a little bit. But we're all there for her and she's strong."

Before departing with the injury, Vieg played a major role in Sequoias (23-0, 7-0) remaining the only undefeated team in the state this season. She nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, along with 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

After giving up the first two points of the game to Taft (14-9, 3-4), Vieg assisted on consecutive 3-pointers by Trigueiro as the Giants took the lead and never relinquished it. 

Vieg finished with five assists in the first quarter as Sequoias built a 28-9 lead.

The Giants were up 60-19 by halftime, and the rout was on. It was the 13th time this season that Sequoias has defeated an opponent by 40 or more points.

"I thought we started off a little bit slow for the first couple of minutes," Newton said. "But then I thought we came out and started to play our style. I was proud of our effort."

Triqueiro delivered a season-high 38 points on 12 of 23 shootings – including a lights-out 7 of 11 from 3-point range – on a night the Giants shot 52.6 percent (40 of 76) overall and 40.9 percent (9 of 22) on threes. Trigueiro also had five rebounds and two steals.

"I hit the first couple (of 3-pointers), and once you get them going, my confidence was kind of high," Trigueiro said. "My teammates were finding me and doing a great job."

Medina flirted with a triple-double as well, contributing 20 points, 13 rebounds, seven rebounds, five steals and a block.

Sequoias also received seven points, five rebounds and a block from Kaitlin Giacone (Eureka); six rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block from Lucia Ricci (Seattle); 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal from Anisa Torres (Caruthers); four points, an assist and a steal from Dhaliwal; four points, two assists and a rebound from Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West); four points, three rebounds, a steal and a block from Maya McNeal (Marysville); and three points and three rebounds from Olivia Gill (Woodland).

"In conference, it's a different beast," Trigueiro said. "Everyone kind of knows what you're doing and what your style is. We just feel like there is no night where we can be slipping. We have to come out with our best effort. And I think we did a good job of that tonight."

After playing at Reedley, Sequoias will travel to Lemoore (7-15, 2-5) at 3 p.m. Feb. 8.

The Giants will then play their final two regular season home games – 5 p.m. Feb. 12 against Fresno City and 3 p.m. Feb. 15 against Merced (9-14, 2-5), before closing CVC play at Porterville (6-16, 0-7) at 5 p.m. Feb. 19.

Sequoias is seeking the 20th official conference championship in program history, and its seventh CVC title since 2015.

"A league title is our first goal, and every night we get one step closer," Trigueiro said. "We keep chipping away and getting a little better."

The Giants are in position to land the No. 1 seed and home court advantage for the Northern California Regional playoffs, which begin Feb. 26. Sequoias would receive a first-round bye if it lands the No. 1 seed.

The state's Elite Eight tournament is scheduled for March 14-16 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Newton is trying to deliver the second state championship in program history. The 1987 Giants went 35-0 en route to the title.

"We've been working on certain things for the last four or five weeks," Newton said. "I just want to make sure we're trying to improve and put those things into practice during these games so we can get better. And I thought we did that. I thought we did a really good job of finishing."