Giants top rival Fresno City to clinch at least a tie for CVC women's basketball championship
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
The 20th conference championship in College of the Sequoias women's basketball history can officially be added to the banner inside Porter Field House.
That's because the state top-ranked Giants clinched no worse than a tie for the Central Valley Conference title with a 70-55 home victory over No. 19 Fresno City on Feb. 12.
The Rams (16-9, 7-2) were the only team with a chance of catching the Giants (26-0, 10-0) entering the game.
Sequoias can win the CVC championship outright with a victory over Merced (10-15, 3-6) during its final home game of the regular season, scheduled for 3 p.m. Feb. 15. The Giants routed the Blue Devils 93-44 when they met in the first round of CVC play on Jan. 22 in Merced.
"You know, my mom taught me to share, but I want to be selfish in this aspect. We've worked really hard and earned the right to be league champions," first-season Sequoias coach Tyler Newton said. "We still have to finish the job though. Merced played Fresno City tough the last time they played them, so we know they will be ready to go. And we've got to be ready. It's going to be Sophomore Night with high emotions and all that good stuff. But I feel like one of our goals was to be a league champion and we're (one) more game away from (the outright title,) and I'm super excited and very proud of our girls."
The Giants won for the third time since losing reigning all-state performer Campbell Vieg (Chico) to a season-ending knee injury. Vieg was averaging 13.5 points, 5.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals a game before going down awkwardly in the fourth quarter of a 108-52 win over Taft on Feb. 1.
But this win wasn't as easy for Sequoias as the first two: blowouts by 40-plus points over Reedley and Lemoore, respectively.
"There is no replacing Campbell Vieg. I truly believe she's the best point guard in the state," Newton said. "She does so much for our basketball team on both sides of the ball. But we coach everybody very hard all year. I've been saying since the first day of summer that it's going to take all 15 of us in the circle to get the job done. I hope we can step up and do the right things."
After the Giants scored the game's first seven points, they were outscored by Fresno City 20-19 through the rest of the first half.
The Rams trailed by three (21-18) with 4 minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter.
But Sequoias took control with a 24-10 surge in the third quarter that featured a combined 18 points from fellow reigning all-state players Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers) and Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle).
The Giants led by 20 points (50-30) by the end of the third quarter.
Fresno City got no closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter.
"Our starting point guard going down definitely took a step in our chemistry," said Medina, who led the Giants with 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists. "We need to figure out what we need to do without having her the rest of the season. And this was our first big challenge. I'm proud of the girls that stepped up."
Playing without its primary ball-handler, Sequoias committed 25 turnovers, tied for its highest total of the season. The Giants hadn't committed 25 turnovers in a game since Nov. 8 against Rio Hondo.
"Cam did a lot for us. I feel like a lot of teams couldn't press us because we had Cam," Medina said. "Now we have to find ways to not crack under pressure, be calm and play the game."
Trigueiro delivered 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Giants
Anisa Torres (Caruthers), who has stepped into the starting point guard job in place of Vieg, contributed four points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Sequoias starting five also received 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block from Lucia Ricci (Seattle); and nine points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals from Kaitlin Giacone (Eureka).
Coming off the bench, Olivia Gill (Woodland) had two points, two rebounds and a block; Mallary Gonzalez (Hoover-Fresno) had two points, two rebounds and an assist; Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West) had a rebound and an assist; Karine Dhaliwal (Yuba) had a block; and Maya McNeal (Marysville) had an assist for the Giants.
"We knew Fresno City is tough and that coach (Alex) Fletcher would have them ready," Newton said. "We know since Cam got injured and has been out of the lineup that teams are trying to do other things to us now to try and mess with our rhythm. So we're trying to find our way. I feel like we lost the best point guard in the state and that's not an easy task for anybody. Our girls are having to step into different roles, play different positions, play more minutes. We're still trying to get our flow figured out."
Sequoias, which has won seven CVC titles since 2015, closes the regular season at 5 p.m. Feb. 19 at Porterville (6-19, 0-10). As the only undefeated in the state and featuring a state-best 12 wins over ranked opposition, the Giants are in line to be the No. 1 seed for the Northern California Regional playoffs, which begin Feb. 26. Top four seeds are guaranteed home games through the NorCal Regional finals on March 8.
Even if Sequoias lost its final two regular season games, it would still be no worse than tied for the best record among the 42 teams that make up the NorCal Region. San Jose City is 24-2.
The Giants are out to win the second state championship in program history, adding to the title won by the 35-0 team in 1987. They have reached the state's Elite Eight tournament – which is scheduled for March 14-16 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut – six times since 2015.
"I think we're capable of a lot," Medina said. "I think we can still achieve our goals and make it to the end goal, but it's going to take a lot of work and preparation."
