Giants women's basketball set to launch season with high expectations under new coach Tyler Newton
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias has featured one of California's premier community college women's basketball programs while making the state playoffs in each of the past 11 championship seasons, including six trips to the Elite Eight.
And lofty expectations won't change for the Giants during their first season under coach Tyler Newton, which begins at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 against Moorpark to open the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament in Walnut.
"I believe we have a chance to be special this year," said Newton, who came to Sequoias after seven seasons as the women's coach at Butte College, where he helped transform the Roadrunners into state title contenders. "Every year, my goal is to win a conference title and get to the Elite Eight. And if you get there, then you reset your goals and go from there. We've been working hard since June to accomplish those goals."
Newton and his assistants -- Annie Ward and Justin Schneringer, who also come to Visalia from Butte -- retained three contributors in Anisa Torres (Caruthers High), Lucia Ricci (Seattle) and Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West) from a Sequoias team that went 20-10 and reached the Northern California Regional finals under interim coach Doug White last season.
Torres, a 5-foot-7 guard, was a first-team all-Central Valley Conference selection after averaging 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Ricci, a 5-9 guard, averaged 9.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists while earning second-team all-CVC honors.
Sandoval, a 5-6 guard, contributed 2.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
"All three are extremely competitive and hard workers," Newton said. "I feel that for Teresa and Anisa especially, their defensive capabilities, being able to guard the full court, are weapons we'll use. And with Lucia, she's playing the best basketball she's ever played, confident and tough. She's going to help us in a lot of ways."
The Giants also welcome four sophomores, including three decorated starters, who transferred to Visalia after playing for the Butte team last season that Newton led to a 30-2 record, a Golden Valley Conference championship and a state semifinal appearance in Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers), Campbell Vieg (Chico), Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle) and Karine Dhaliwal (Yuba City).
Trigueiro, a 5-9 guard, averaged 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists while being named the Golden Valley Conference's Most Valuable Player and first-team all-Northern California regional team.
"She was phenomenal last season," Newton said. "One of the best 3-point shooters in the state."
Vieg, a 5-6 guard, made the all-state tournament team, was selected second-team all-NorCal Regional and first-team all-GVC while averaging 9.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
Medina, a 5-6 guard, also was selected second-team all-NorCal Regional and first-team all-GVC after averaging 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
Dhaliwal, a 5-5 guard, contributed 4.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists a game for a Roadrunners team that spent much of last season ranked No. 1 in the state.
"Having them is a luxury for sure. I was fortunate they wanted to come with me," Newton said. "This is a class of kids who were thrown into the fire as freshmen and played at a super high level. Having that nucleus here is awesome. It's a big help in sharing our culture and how we prepare."
Newton said he was recruiting nine players to Butte before being hired as a coach and full-time physical education instructor at Sequoias in April. Eight of those played followed Newton to Visalia, including a pair of local recruits in 6-2 center Mallary Gonzalez of Hoover-Fresno and 5-10 guard Emily Pallesi of Reedley.
Gonzalez is expected to be one of the Giants' primary post players, along with fellow freshman recruit Olivia Gill, a 5-11 center from Woodland.
Newton described Pallesi as having huge upside who will develop with more time in the weight room.
Newton's recruiting class also features a pair of multi-sport standouts as preps in 5-9 guard Tylie Hatcher (Cloverdale) and 5-8 guard Kaitlin Giacone (Eureka), 5-8 guard Jacalyn Gorbet (Crescent City) and 6-2 center Maya McNeal (Marysville).
Hatcher was one of the better prep 3-point shooters in the state last season, while Giacone is an accomplished rebounder who can play multiple positions.
Newton said McNeal and Gorbet will provide depth while developing their games.
The eighth recruit -- Ava Contreras (Woodland) -- transitioned into the team manager.
This new era of Sequoias women's basketball starts with a stiff test as the Giants open with reigning state semifinalist Moorpark, followed by defending state champion Orange Coast at 5 p.m. Nov. 2 and Mt. SAC, which was ranked second in the state in the final regular season poll before losing in the Southern California Regional finals, at 5 p.m. Nov. 3.
Sequoias will also face state runner-up Glendale at 5 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Rio Hondo Crossover, host a field of top state contenders during the 47th annual Gilcrest Tournament on Dec. 5-7 and play at the always tough Moorpark Tournament Dec. 19-21 before starting Central Valley Conference play that features games against reigning NorCal Regional finalist Fresno City at 3 p.m. Jan. 18 in Fresno and 5 p.m. Feb. 12 in Visalia.
CVC play begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 8 at Taft. The Giants have won four of the past five CVC titles.
"I put together the toughest schedule I could possibly put together," Newton said. "I think we'll find out really quick where we're at. If the goal is to get to the Elite Eight, playing teams we can beat by 40 points doesn't do anything for us. I want to be battle tested."
Last season, Newton's Butte team was the third-highest scoring squad in the state at 79.9 points per game, while shooting at the sixth-best clip from the field (43 percent) and fourth-best clip (34 percent) from 3-point range. Defensively, the Roadrunners limited opponents to 51.1 points per game, seventh lowest in the state.
He expects to play a similar brand of basketball at Sequoias.
"We're still going to play fast and defend at a high level, but also have the ability to run sets and get it inside when we need to," Newton said. "I feel like this year, we'll not be as one dimensional. If shots aren't falling, we have some versatility."
