Giants rally past FCC; host state No. 9 Merced on Feb. 8

College of the Sequoias scored an important victory as it seeks to secure an eight straight trip to the Northern California Regional women's basketball playoffs.

The NorCal No. 13-ranked Giants rallied from 12 points down on the road to beat NorCal No. 10 Fresno City 64-61 in a Central Valley Conference game Feb. 5.

A 3-point basket by Neli Diaz (McFarland) with 1:12 left in the third quarter gave COS a 50-49 lead. The Giants (16-8, 5-3) would not trail again while avenging a 76-59 loss to Fresno City (12-10, 4-3) on Jan. 11.

Felicia Ramirez (Caruthers) sank a 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the third quarter to cap a 16-3 run that saw the Giants claw back from a 43-31 deficit, highlighting a 13-point, six-rebound, two-assist performance.

Alaysia Reed (Las Vegas) had 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Serena Ybarra (Coalinga) added 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists to lead COS.

The Giants also received nine points, two rebounds and two assists from Sapphire Jones (Hanford), and seven points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals from McKenna Hsiung (Bakersfield).

COS is set to host NorCal No. 3 and state No. 9 Merced (19-5, 8-0) at 3 p.m. Feb. 8 at Porter Field House.

After Merced, the Giants have two more home games left in the regular season: Feb. 19 against Porterville and Feb. 21 against West Hills-Lemoore. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 5 p.m.