State No. 1 Giants women's basketball improves to 18-0 following rout of Reedley
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
It was the victory within the victory that meant the most to first-season College of the Sequoias women's basketball coach Tyler Newton.
His state top-ranked Giants had just soared past the century scoring mark for the second straight game while blowing out a second straight opponent to open Central Valley Conference play.
But it was his team's defensive performance that impressed Newton most on a night when Sequoias shot an astounding 54.9 percent from the field, and an even more astounding 51.9 percent from 3-point range during a 112-44 victory over Reedley on Jan. 11 at Porter Field House.
"The score was what it was, but it's never easy because we're competing with ourselves and trying to play to our standard," Newton said. "And I thought that (Jan. 8 during a 119-67 win at Taft), our defensive effort was not up to par. And that's what we really focused on the next couple of practices leading into this one. And I was much, much happier with how we were flying around and playing hard on defense."
The Giants scored the game's first seven points and never trailed while steamrolling Reedley (9-9, 1-1) to improve to 18-0 overall and 2-0 in the CVC.
Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers High) scored five of her 33 points during an 11-0 run to close the first quarter as Sequoias took a commanding 27-9 lead.
The Giants led by 33 points at halftime (56-23), and extinguished any hopes of a Reedley comeback by outsourcing the Tigers 31-6 in the third quarter. Sequoias held Reedley to 3 of 15 shooting from the field in the third quarter, including a shutout (0 for 6) from 3-point range.
A 3-pointer by Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle) with 4 minutes, 10 seconds left in the game gave the Giants their biggest lead at 70 points (110-40).
"If you don't come to play and you're not prepared and not focused, then you can turn games that aren't supposed to be competitive, competitive," Newton said. "I think for us, it's how we continue to stay on ourselves and make sure we hold ourselves to a high standard. And I know it's kind of cliche and every coach talks about playing to the standard, but honestly, it's the truth. They know that even though we scored a lot of points last game, I wasn't very happy with our defensive effort and that was our focus. I was happy to see when we focus on something, it improves."
After a preconference season that saw the Giants defeat nine state-ranked teams – including No. 2 Mt. San Antonio, No. 3 Orange Coast and No. 4 Moorpark twice each – the upcoming CVC schedule figures to be far less challenging. Only No. 18 and defending conference champion Fresno City (10-7, 1-0) is ranked, and Taft is the only other team with a winning record.
But that doesn't mean Sequoias can go on cruise control during its final 10 CVC games, starting with a matchup against Lemoore (5-11, 0-1) scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 15 at Porter Field House.
The Giants are seeking their seventh CVC title in the past 10 championship seasons.
"We've just got to keep the same mindset. Don't fix it if it ain't broke," Newton said. "We really need to continue to take everyone seriously and game plan appropriately and practice appropriately. And just one game at a time as we move through the season. I think if we start looking too far ahead, you get yourself in trouble. We just need to be present and in the moment and just be the best version of ourselves in the moment."
Medina led Sequoias with 34 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Trigueiro added six rebounds, an assist and a block to her 33 points.
Campbell Vieg (Chico) delivered 17 points, eight assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks; Kaitlyn Giacone (Eureka) added seven points, four rebounds and two assists; and Lucia Ricci (Seattle) had five points, eight rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.
Coming off the bench, Olivia Gill (Woodland) had six points, nine rebounds and two blocks; Anisa Torres (Caruthers) had five points, a rebound, an assist and a steal; Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West) had four points, two rebounds and an assist; and Maya McNeal (Marysville) had six rebounds.
The Giants are the state's last remaining undefeated team. They are chasing an eighth CVC title in the past 10 championship seasons, and have the potential to join Sequoias' 1987 team as the only undefeated state champion in program history.
"From a record perspective, we're better than where I thought we'd be. I figured we'd have four or five losses by now," Newton said. "I never had a record goal for us. Our goals this year were to win a league title and make a run at a state championship. Those are two lofty goals, obviously, and we've been grinding for a long time. We're still 10 games away from our first goal, which is kind of funny to say. That's another reason it's hard to keep everyone focused because you don't get that instant gratification. You've got to grind and it's a long time to see it, but I'm very pleased with where we're at. We have room for growth and we've got to chip away and keep getting better, but I'm very proud of our group."
