Giants close L.A. Valley Tournament with two wins

By Nick Giannandrea

COS Athletics

College of the Sequoias' women's basketball team bounced back from a first-round loss at the L.A. Valley Tournament to win the consolation title.

The Giants (9-4) got 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks from Felicia Ramirez (Caruthers) during an 80-73 victory over Long Beach (4-5) in the consolation final Dec. 15.

Sapphire Jones (Hanford) 16 points, three rebounds and two steals, Aubrey Nunes (El Diamante) had 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and Alaysia Reed (Las Vegas) added nine points and five assists for COS, which dropped from No. 14 to out of the latest state rankings. The Giants are No. 7 in Northern California.

COS rolled to an 82-32 victory over Saddleback (2-8) on Dec. 14 in the consolation semifinals behind 17 points and four rebounds from Nunes.

Reed contributed 11 points, six assists and five steals, Ramirez had 12 points and three rebounds and Serena Ybarra (Coalinga) added seven points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals to help the Giants snap a three-game losing streak.

COS held a five-point first quarter lead but couldn't make it stick during a 72-64 opening-round loss to state No. 10-ranked L.A. Trade Tech on Dec. 13.

The Beavers (9-4) tied the score 31-31 at halftime and went ahead for good with an 18-13 third quarter.

Ramirez had 20 points, 11 rebounds and three steals to lead the Giants.

Nunes contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, while Reed added eight points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Neli Diaz (McFarland) added nine points.

COS is headed to the Bulldog Classic in San Mateo this weekend.

The Giants are set to face Gavilan (3-6) at 1 p.m. Dec. 19; Shasta (8-4) at 5 p.m. Dec. 20; and No. 13 Butte (11-4) at 1 p.m. Dec. 21.

The next home game for COS is scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 8 when it hosts Taft to open Central Valley Conference play.