Women’s Basketball Team Earns Home Playoff Game Wednesday Night

The Eagles will start the playoffs at home for the third year in a row when they host Cosumnes River Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the CCCAA Women's Basketball NorCal Regionals.

One of four Golden Valley Conference women's teams to make the postseason, Siskiyous is seeded 14th with a 17-10 overall record while Cosumnes River (15-13) is No. 19.

Head coach Noelle Collier wasn't expecting a home game after her team went 5-3 and finished third in the GVC behind No. 9 Butte (7-1, 18-9) and No. 10 Shasta (6-2, 17-10). But then even Redwoods, which finished fourth in conference at 2-6 and 11-16, made the NorCal Regionals at No. 20.

"I'm proud of the girls," Collier said of an Eagle team that had just eight players on the roster, sophomores Tatum Allen, Samantha Freitas, Grace Hubbard and Ella Sannar and freshmen Alexes Collier, Kaelyn Lange, Samantha Gish and Rayana Atkins.

The Eagles played 18 of their 27 regular season games against teams that made the playoffs, and they were the only team to beat Butte in GVC play. They also won a pre-conference tournament game against Butte.

Cosumnes River also defeated Butte early in the season and defeated the Eagles, 79-62, in the first game after the Thanksgiving break. Collier said Cosumnes River is "very athletic with good size and quickness." They finished fourth in the Big 8 Conference that was won by No. 2 seed San Joaquin Delta (20-8) and includes No. 3 Sierra (23-4) and No. 5 Folsom Lake (23-5).

Stopping Cosumnes River's No. 10, Saray White, will be a focus for the Eagles Wednesday night. White leads the Big 8 in scoring with 21 points per game and averages 7 rebounds.

For the Eagles, Alexes Collier ranks 8th in the state and 1st in conference with 78 three-point baskets and 2nd in conference with 17.6 points per game. Her good shooting means she's attracting extra defensive pressure and "learning how to play through it," Coach Collier said. When other teams do that, "They're giving something up. We want Alexes to find an open teammate but also keep attacking."

The coach also wants Grace Hubbard to get more shots with good looks at the basket. Hubbard was just 1 for 3 from the field in last week's loss to Shasta. She's' ranked 1st in conference with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game and a 50.3 field goal shooting percentage. She's 6th in conference with 9.1 total rebounds per game and averages 8.6 points.

Three Eagles are ranked in the top 12 in conference assists. Samantha Freitas is 2nd with 3.7 per game, Alexes Collier is 8th at 3.0, and Tatum Allen is tied for 11th at 2.7.

Freitas is also 7th in conference in steals and 13th in rebounds (5.7 per game) while averaging 7.8 points. A year ago, she threw the long inbounds pass for a lay-in that gave the Eagles a 64-63 win in their first round home playoff game.

"She does a lot of things well that often go unnoticed," Collier said of Freitas. "We have her guard other team's best offensive player, and she rebounds nicely. Her defense-first approach and rebounding helps open the offense."

Allen, a key ball-handler on offense, is 4th in conference in free throw shooting percentage (76.3), 6th in conference with 54 three-pointers, and 9th in scoring (11.4 points). Coach said she's been playing through a calf strain late in the season.

Sophomore Ella Sannar, a team strength near the basket, is 10th in the GVC with 6.7 rebounds per game and 11th with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game. She had been getting some breaks when Samantha Gish rotated in, but Gish missed two games late in the season with a concussion and played only a little in the last one, a non-conference loss to Redwoods. When Gish is available, "It changes the dynamic," Collier said.

Kaelyn Lange also rotates in regularly. She ranks 13th in conference with 1.6 steals per game because, according to Collier, of her ability to pick opposing players' pockets with her quick left hand.

Late season ailments were one factor in the Eagles' recent losses to Shasta and Redwoods, and they struggled with their shooting and passing against Shasta.

After that game, Collier said she showed the players their turnovers back-to-back-to-back on a video. "Now," she told them, "it's a fresh chapter. We just need to get back to our game and simplify it."

Wednesday's game will be played on the team's Tom Powers Court. The head coach for many years and now an assistant, Tom Powers turned the Eagles into a perennial playoff team. Noelle Collier was an all-conference player and later an assistant under Powers for nine years before taking over as head coach. Her teams have continued the tradition, making the playoffs the last four years in a row and finishing with either 18 or 19 wins the last three. The goal for this year was 20, she said. It's still possible.

By Steve Gerace