Butte, Santa Rosa, Sequoias and Sierra carry NorCal into state championship tournament
SACRAMENTO – The last two California Community College Women’s Basketball State Championship winners – sandwiched between a couple of COVID-canceled events – have come from Northern California, courtesy of Diablo Valley College in 2019 and Sierra College last year. While the South looks to turn the tide and give the region their first titlist since 2018, four NorCal teams look to keep the region at the top of the hill.
Eight teams – four from the north part of the state and four from the south – will converge on West Hills College Lemoore in the Central Valley for three days of exciting basketball. Butte, Santa Rosa, College of the Sequoias, and defending champion Sierra will represent the top half of the state while Orange Coast, undefeated Palomar, Mt. San Antonio, and Cypress will carry hopes from the lower half.
The most recent state rankings were split evenly between the north and the south among the top four teams. Palomar, as it has for the entire season, was ranked No. 1 and was followed by Santa Rosa, Orange Coast and Butte. That quartet has survived to make it to Lemoore, setting up a memorable tournament.
Quarterfinal games will take place on Friday at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m., semifinals will be at 5 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday’s championship is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., following the men’s title matchup at 1. All tournament games can be watched live, courtesy of broadcast partner BAOSN, with links available for the streams, stats, photos, recap and more through the Tournament Central Website on the CCCAA website here.
Here is a brief look at the four teams from Northern California making up this year’s field, in order of seed. On Thursday, we'll preview the SoCal teams.
No. 1 North - BUTTE (26-3, 9-1) – (Golden Valley Conference Champion)
The Roadrunners have their eyes on not just the program’s first appearance in the championship game but, more importantly, its first banner. They’ll look to an offense that is sixth in the state in scoring (76.6 ppg) and a defense that is giving up 56.1 ppg. Butte hasn’t lost in two months, rattling off 11 straight victories including a rout over Merced to open the regionals and then a tough win against Folsom Lake last week.
Butte will take on Cypress at 5 p.m. on Friday in the day’s third quarterfinal matchup.
While three players are scoring in double figures, the Roadrunners are led by the CCCWBCA NorCal Player of the Year Meghan Weinrich who’s averaging a team-high double-double of 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds a game. She’s also picking up 3.6 steals per games and blocking a shot each outing, both highs on the team. Weinrich has scored at least 21 points her last three games and dropped a season-high 31 against Feather River on Jan. 28, helping Butte avenge its only conference loss of the season.
But as dynamic as a player Weinrich is, opponents also need to watch out for freshman guards Sarah Tait (12.9 ppg) and Jordan Arreola (12.2). Arreola is one of two Roadrunners averaging 2.5 three-pointers a game while sophomore guard Cassidy King matches Weinrich’s assists, averaging 5.1 pg.
Butte is 4-2 against the championship field.
No. 2 North – SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE (28-2, 15-1) – Big 8 Conference Champion
Santa Rosa is just one of seven schools that have tasted a state championship more than once, earning its first title in 1988 before adding another in 2011. The Bear Cubs, coming in on the heels of a 15-game winning streak, will try to return to the victory stand when they face Mt. San Antonio at 1 p.m. on Friday in the first quarterfinal matchup of the day.
Santa Rosa is one of the top three-shooting teams in the state, ranking second in percentage (.340) and 11th in made treys (7.5 pg). That’s helped fuel the 12th-ranked scoring offense (71.6 ppg) that has been held to fewer than 70 points in six straight games.
A big part of the Bear Cubs’ success can be attributed to a pair of all-state players in first-team forward Ashleigh Barr and second-teamer Ciarah Michalik. The sophomore Barr is scoring at a 12.6 ppg. clip while making 47% of her shots from the floor. She’s complemented that scoring with an 11.3 rebounding average. Barr has reached double-figure scoring in 10 straight games, averaging her season average of 12.6 points during that span.
Michalik has been an effective floor leader from her guard spot, averaging 10.4 ppg. while adding 4.5 assists and 1.6 steals per outing. Freshman guard Lucca Lowenberg leads the team with a 15.4 ppg. scoring average and makes nearly a trio of three-pointers per game. The Bear Cubs make the long distance shot at a 34% clip, second-best in the state.
Santa Rosa, however, is driven by its defense, particularly in rebounding and scoring defense. They rank third in defensive rebounds per game (32.3), fourth for overall boards (48.7) and are out-rebounding opponents a state-leading 16.7 rpg. They also block, 4.9 shots per game (5th in the state), hold opponents to 30.1% from the field (3rd) and just 49.1 ppg. (4th).
No. 3 North - COLLEGE OF THE SEQUOIAS (28-2) – Central Valley College Champions
The Giants were giants of the CVC this season, rolling through league play with a 12-0 record and capturing the conference title. COS is no stranger to the state championship tournament, advancing every year since 2016 with the exception of the canceled 2020 event when they it was eliminated in the second round. The Giants won their program’s lone banner in 1987 when they went 35-0 and beat American River in the championship.
This year, the tradition continues for COS which only has to make the short half-hour drive along CA-198 West to play in front of a default home crowd when it faces undefeated Palomar (30-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The Giants feature a pair of players on the All-State team in first-team NorCal standout Alana Robert and second-teamer Maria Dias. The pair have helped their squad to the fourth-best scoring offense in the state (78.7 ppg) which is also shooting 43% from the field, eighth-best in California. Roberts is averaging a double-double (14.8/10.4) every time she steps on the floor while Dias is nearly even in scoring (14.6) with Roberts while her 6.5 rpg. are second.
Freshman guard Geizzle Jones (12.7 ppg) and sophomore guard Camila Barreno (11.9) bring another potent scoring pair to the attack while Barreno has been effective with the ball on both offense (4.8 apg) and defense (2.6 spg).
In all, COS is ranked among the top 10 teams in the state in seven different stat categories. The Giants are 1-2 versus this week’s teams.
No. 4 North – SIERRA (20-11, 11-5) – Big 8 Conference (4th place)
What do they say? Never count out the heart of a champion? That certainly applies to Sierra, which their second-ever state championship a year ago but had to battle to fourth place in the rugged Big 8 Conference before turning on the after-burners in the postseason to make a run at a return trip to Lemoore.
The Wolverines lost two games to powerful San Joaquin Delta and Santa Rosa over a three-game span five weeks ago but then closed out league play with a pair of wins, setting up a regional run as the 13th seed that brought a win at home against No. 20 Chabot (81-68) and impressive road victories at No.4 Fresno City (85-71) and rival San Joaquin Delta (47-44), seeded No. 5, to make it to Lemoore.
Third-team all-state player Christiane Carlisle has been a key for the Wolverines throughout the season, averaging 15.4 ppg., including making 3.4 three-pointers a game and adding 4.3 rebounds. She’s tallied at least 20 points eight times this year, including 24 and 21 in back-to-back games against Diablo Valley and Folsom Lake to end the regular season.
Alyssa Premo has been another stalwart in Sierra’s year, averaging 16.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She’s been especially tough on the offensive glass with nearly half of her boards coming on that end. Premo has scored at least 20 points her last three outings, including providing a majority of the offense against Delta last weekend when she went for 24 points, almost 50% of the team’s total in the exciting 47-44 win.
Sierra is eighth in the state in offensive rebounds per game (18.7) and in total rebounds (47.7) and is third in rebounding margin (+15.5). The Wolverine’s 19.2 assists a game ranks third in the CCCAA.
Sierra is 1-5 against this year’s field. For another state championship preview on Sierra, read here.
(Mike Robles, CCCAA)