Giants welcome state-class field for 45th annual Gilcrest Invitational women's basketball tournament
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
The best of the best in California Community College women's basketball are headed to Visalia this week, as usual.
College of the Sequoias is one of seven state-ranked teams in the eight-team field for the 45th annual Gilcrest Invitational, scheduled for Dec. 2-4 at Porter Field House.
And the only unranked team -- College of the Canyons -- enters 6-0 heading into its tournament opener Dec. 2 against Northern California No. 3-ranked Sequoias (6-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Cougars have victories over NorCal No. 7 Butte (68-63) en route to winning the Santa Barbara MXTE tournament, and Southern California No. 3 Mt. San Antonio (79-74) on the way to a title at the Venture College Kiwanis Tournament.
"Playing Canyons could be a championship game in any other tournament," Giants coach Ray Alvarado said. "They could win this tournament. None of these games are going to be easy."
And that's the ongoing point of the Gilcrest Invitational, which has long been considered a preview of the state playoffs.
The field also includes NorCal No. 1 San Joaquin Delta (6-0), NorCal No. 6 Chabot (4-4), Butte (5-3), Mt. San Antonio (6-2), SoCal No. 5 Ventura (2-4) and SoCal No. 12 L.A. Valley (2-2).
Teams in the Gilcrest Invitational have combined to win 17 state titles, eight by Mt. San Antonio, seven by Ventura and one each by Sequoias and Chabot.
Chabot, Mt. San Antonio, Ventura and San Joaquin Delta were all part of the state's Elite Eight championship tournament in 2020 before it was canceled because of safety precautions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It has traditionally been the No. 1 tournament in the state," Alvarado said. "Even when we had to cut it from 16 teams to eight, we wanted to keep it as tough as we could. We wanted as many opponents as possible that are championship caliber. We have a heck of a field. It's going to be a tough tournament for sure."
Other first-round matchups include Butte vs. Ventura at 1 p.m., Delta vs. L.A. Valley at 3 p.m., and Mt. San Antonio vs. Chabot at 5 p.m.
The semifinals are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. Dec. 3, with consolation games at 1 and 3 p.m.
The seventh-place game is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 4, followed by the consolation championship at noon, the third-place game at 2 p.m. and the championship at 4 p.m. Admission is $5 per day and facial coverings are required inside Porter Field House.
If Sequoias wins its opener, it would face the winner of the Mt. SAC/Chabot game in the semifinals at 7 p.m.
"If you want to make your mark or see how you do against the best, that's why you get into a tournament like this," Alvarado said. "We want to play the highest caliber opponents throughout the season. I want the team to be challenged, win or lose."
The Giants, who have played games without several key contributors this season, will have all but one of their 14-woman roster available for the Gilcrest Invitational.
Forward Alana Roberts (Sierra Pacific High-Hanford) is likely to be sidelined until early January with an ankle injury, but three players who have missed time so far because of injuries or personal issues -- forward Hailee Edwards (Ridgeview-Bakersfield), guard Nikola Hudson (Florida), and guard Celeste Lewis (Sierra Pacific) -- are all expected to play.
Roberts was averaging 12 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.4 assists through five games before hurting her ankle at the Moorpark Crossover on No. 13.
Serena Ybarra (Coalinga), Sapphire Jones (Hanford) and Ayon Carter (Oakland) have been steadying forces for Sequoias, playing in all eight of the team's games so far.
Ybarra is averaging 10.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals a game, Jones is contributing 12 points 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.3 assists a game, and Carter is adding 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
"We definitely miss Alana. She's a key, key piece to our puzzle," Alvarado said. "But the other players are stepping up and getting good experience. This team has been very unselfish, which will only help them later on."
