Giants topple Modesto, advance to face San Francisco for berth in women's basketball Elite Eight
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
Making the field for the Elite Eight has become a ritual for College of the Sequoias' women's basketball team.
And the sixth-seeded Giants sit on the threshold of another berth into the state championship tournament following an 89-61 dismantling of No. 11 Modesto on March 3 at Porter Field House in the second round of the Northern California Regionals.
Sequoias (22-5) advances to face No. 3 San Francisco (21-5) at 5:30 p.m. March 5 on the road, with the winner reaching the eight-team, North vs. South championship tournament scheduled for March 10 and 12-13 at West Hills-Lemoore.
"I think for sure we're playing our best basketball that we've played all season," said Hailee Edwards, a sophomore out of Ridgeview-Bakersfield who delivered six points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal against Modesto. "We hope to make the state tournament and win it all."
Standing in the Giants' way of a potential fifth trip to the state's Elite Eight in the past seven championship seasons is a Coast North Conference champion San Francisco team that has won 10 straight, including a 67-43 defeat of No. 14 Redwoods in the second round of the NorCal Regionals.
"It's going to be tough. Any game at this point will be," Sequoias coach Ray Alvarado said. "It's going to be a tough matchup. They are physical."
The Giants are winners of 11 straight -- the second-longest streak among the 43 colleges in NorCal -- after shaking off a slow start against Modesto (20-7).
Sequoias trailed 17-11 following an Annie Winton 3-pointer at the 5:05 mark, but closed the first quarter with a 12-0 flourish to take control. Sapphire Jones, the Central Valley Conference's Player of the Year, scored five points and Tiana Holland (Washington Union-Easton) added four during the run.
It was a 3-pointer by Jones (Hanford) that put the Giants ahead to stay at 18-17 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
"That's been our achilles all year. We have a hard time starting," Alvarado said. "They get lost in matchups. They kind of lose focus, trying to get the right mix in there. But I thought when they settled down and got comfortable, they started playing their game."
Sequoias outscored Modesto 24-8 in the second quarter, capped by a 3-pointer from Celeste Lewis (Sierra Pacific-Hanford) with 8 seconds remaining, to open a 22-point lead at halftime.
"That pretty much took (Modesto) out," Alvarado said. "I thought the effort was outstanding take away the first 3 minutes."
Edwards and Holland each scored five points during the second quarter blitz.
"I felt like we adjusted to that team and started knowing our assignments better," Edwards said. "We just turned it around and started playing as a team and got going."
The Giants' lead on one of only two teams to defeat state top-ranked San Joaquin Delta this season grew as large as 29 points twice: first on a jumper by Lewis with 2:22 left in the third quarter (68-39) and again on a basket by Ayon Carter (Oakland) with 1:00 to play in the third (70-41).
"It's playoff time, and they aren't ready to stop," Alvarado said. "They are playing well together. The key is hitting shots and getting that momentum. Getting that extra energy in you."
Alvarado said another key to beating Modesto was containing their two best players -- Reina Sausedo and Winton. Both scored more than their season averages -- 18.1 on the year vs. 19 against Sequoias for Sausedo and 15.2 on the year and 22 against the Giants for Winton -- but they missed 70 percent of their combined 50 shots. The rest of the Pirates only produced 20 points.
"We came in with a plan to stop their two best scorers," Edwards said. "And I thought we did that."
Lewis scored a game-leading 28 points -- including a 5 of 8 effort from 3-point range -- to lead Sequoias. Lewis also contributed eight assists, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
Jones finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and an assist; Holland had 13 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block; and Carter added 10 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Giants.
Sequoias also received six points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block from Serena Ybarra (Coalinga); six points, four rebounds and two assists from Dyaneli Diaz (McFarland) and six points, five rebounds and an assist from Hannah Kearnan (Redwood).
"We've all worked hard to get into this position, and our hard work is paying off," Lewis said. "We've been through a lot this whole season. I think we have a good chance of winning this if we keep playing together as a team."
