State top-ranked Giants women's basketball moves to 8-0 ahead of Gilcrest Tournament
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
California's top-ranked community college women's basketball team showed its home fans the reason for such a lofty ranking.
College of the Sequoias scored the game's first 13 points and were never seriously challenged while rolling to a 92-27 victory over Antelope Valley on Nov. 22 at Porter Field House.
The Giants -- who have already defeated the teams ranked Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6 in the state on the road during their 8-0 start -- played relentless defense while posting their largest margin of victory this season at 65 points. They are one of only three undefeated teams in the state, along with Folsom Lake (5-0) and Sierra (5-0).
In its home debut under new coach Tyler Newton, Sequoias held Antelope Valley without a field goal (0 for 11) in the first quarter while forcing seven turnovers.
"I thought we came out a little sloppy because we were amped up for the first home game and everyone was a little nervous and playing a little bit too fast, and kind of on edge and off balance," said Newton, who previously coached at Butte the past seven seasons, where he helped turn the Roadrunners a state power. "But after a few minutes we settled in and started playing our style of basketball, you know applying pressure. On the defensive side of the ball, I thought we did a great job (defending) some of the actions they were running, really taking that away. It looked like they were stymied and really didn't know what to do. I thought our effort on defense was phenomenal."
Sequoias led 19-2 after the first quarter and upped its advantage to 43-13 by halftime.
A 28-6 Giants' blitz in the third quarter put the score out of reach for the Antelope Valley (4-3).
Newton used and received statistical contributions from 13 of the 14 players on Sequoias' roster, led by 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal from Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle); and 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals from Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers).
The Giants' starting five also received eight points, seven rebounds and two steals from Lucia Ricci (Seattle, Wash.); six points, nine assists, four rebounds and a steal from Campbell Vieg (Chico); and two points, two assists and a rebound from Olivia Gill (Woodland).
Anisa Torres (Caruthers) led Sequoias' reserves with nine points, two steals and a block. The Giants' bench also received eight points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals from Tylie Hatcher (Cloverdale); six points and seven rebounds from Maya McNeal (Marysville); four points, two rebounds and an assist from Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West); four points, four rebounds, four assists and a block from Kaitlin Giacone (Eureka); four points, six rebounds, a steal an a block from Mallary Gonzalez (Hoover-Fresno); three points and a rebound from Jacalyn Gorbet (Crescent City); and an assist from Emily Pallesi (Reedley).
"Our starters got us rolling, but I thought we had great contributions off the bench from girls who work hard every day, and got an opportunity to go out there and show what they are capable of and they held up their end of the bargain," Newton said. "So it was a good team win in a fun environment. It was awesome. I'm looking forward to the next home game."
The Giants' who entered the game shooting a state second-best 46.3 percent from the field, were even better on their home court, converting shots at a 47.4 percent clip (35 of 74). They were a season-best 44 percent (11 of 25) from 3-point range.
"We shot more like I thought we could shoot," Newton said. "It was nice to see our girls have confidence and knock down some shots for us."
Sequoias will have 11 days off before returning to Porter Field House on Dec. 5 to launch the 47th annual Gilcrest Tournament.
The Giants open the eight-team tourney against Butte (2-3), which Newton led to a 30-2 record and state semifinal finish last season. Medina, Trigueiro and Vieg all transferred from Butte to continue playing for Newton and assistants Justin Schneringer and Annie Ward at Sequoias.
The tournament's first day also features state No. 18 Chabot (5-1) against No. 7 Laney (4-1) at 1 p.m.; Cerro Cosa (7-1) against No. 4 Mt. San Antonio (6-1) at 3 p.m.; and Los Angeles Valley (3-2) against No. 5 San Joaquin Delta (4-2) at 5 p.m. The semifinals are at 5 and 7 p.m. Dec. 6, with the final set for 4 p.m. Dec. 7.
"I'm happy we're 8-0, that's been great," Newton said. "We've seen a lot of different teams and played against a lot of different styles. We're learning and growing through winning, which is nice. We've yet to learn through losing, which is tough sometimes. I think we're playing at about a 6.5 or seven of what we're capable of. And as we continue to learn each other and grow as a team and get better at the little things we need to work on in practice, I think we can continue to peak toward the postseason and a league title, and things like that. Hopefully we can do both."
