Reloaded Giants aim for another deep run into state women's basketball playoffs
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
Talk about setting the bar really high.
Led by all-state selections Campbell Vieg, Jocelyn Medina and Morgan Trigueiro, College of the Sequoias women's basketball team won its first 31 games and reached the state semifinals last season during Tyler Newton's debut as Giants' coach.
Repeating one of the most successful seasons in program history and replacing one of its most decorated trio of players will be no easy task, not that Newton isn't going to try as he prepares Sequoias for its 2025-2026 opener Oct. 31 at the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament in Walnut.
Newton and assistant Jain Tuey added a former McDonald's All-American nominee, a two-time prep state champion and a transfer who made the second-most 3-point baskets in the state last season to a reloaded roster expected to compete for a second straight Central Valley Conference title and make another run at the state championship.
"I know that winning like we've won the last few years is not normal. It should not be an expectation," said Newton, who led Butte College to a 30-2 record and a state semifinal appearance in 2023-2024 before coming to Sequoias. "In reality, when we bring in new groups of young kids, you have to teach them how to win and how to do the right things. It may take some time. We may take some lumps while we figure it out. But at the same time, I'm ultra competitive and I always want to be the best coach I can be. And I want my players to be the best players they can be.
"I'm trying to temper my expectations a little bit in case we do take a few lumps early. But we definitely have the pieces to ultimately be successful and go where we want to go. We've just got to buy in and grind and keep chipping away every day to get to that point."
The Giants return three post players -- 5-foot 11-inch center Olivia Gill (Woodland) and 6-2 center Maya McNeal (Marysville) and 5-10 forward Kaitlyn Giacone (Eureka) -- from a team that went 31-1 overall last season, 12-0 in the CVC and lost 57-50 to eventual champion Mt. San Antonio in the semifinals of the California Community College state tournament.
Gill started 17 games and played in all 32 last season for Sequoias while averaging 5.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. Newton said Gill has improved her outside shot in the offseason and is expected to be "a big piece for us inside."
McNeal played in 28 games last season, averaging 1.7 points and 2.8 rebounds. She is expected to play a bigger role this season, particularly against teams on the Giants' schedule with more size and physicality.
"Some teams this year kind of reloaded and have some pretty good size," Newton said. "So having (McNeal) to be able to go up and bang with some other size when we see those matchups will be a good weapon for us."
Giacone emerged as a key contributor over the second half of last season when she started the team's final 15 games while averaging 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals. Newton said Giacone might have to redshirt because of a knee injury.
Sequoias has one other potential returner in sharp-shooting 5-9 guard Tylie Hatcher (Cloverdale), but she also might be forced to redshirt because of a medical issue. Hatcher averaged 3.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 18 games last season.
Adding college experience to the mix are a trio of transfers in 5-4 guard Sydney Chesnut (Henderson, Nev.), 5-10 guard/forward Gabby Brooks (Henderson, Nev.) and 5-4 guard Danae Banuelos (Golden West High).
Chesnut finished behind only former Giant Trigueiro in the state with 104 made 3-pointers last season at Cabrillo College. A 32.1-percent shooter from beyond the arc, Chesnut averaged 13.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals a game while helping the Seahawks go 19-11, their season ending with a 98-57 loss to Sequoias in the Northern California Regional playoffs.
Brooks also played at Cabrillo last season, averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
"I think they are still trying to learn how to play with other really good players and play more in the system we have, which is much different than they played at Cabrillo, where they played a 2-3 zone the whole game and kind of played to more of a slow pace," Newton said. "It's exactly the opposite here where we play very fast and get after people. So they are still trying to adjust and figure that out, but I expect both to be impact players for us."
Banuelos transferred from CVC rival Porterville, where she put up 19.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season. Banuelos is dealing with a medical issue and a redshirt candidate.
"I had expected her to be a major impact player for us," Newton said. "I think she's a scholarship four-year kid if she's healthy and at her best."
Sequoias' six-member freshman class is headlined by Nyla Anderson, a 5-6 guard who was a McDonald's All-American nominee last season at Bowie High in Austin, Texas, where she averaged 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game for a team that went 25-10.
Anderson is expected to be the Giants starting point guard.
"She's a two-way player who can really defend and get after people on the defensive side of the ball, but can also shoot it and finish and get her teammates involved," Newton said. "I'm really excited for her. She's definitely proving to be a dependable point guard for us."
Izabel Mendez brings championship pedigree to the Giants after being a key contributor to two state title winning teams at Caruthers High. The 5-7 guard helped lead the Blue Raiders to a 26-6 record and the California Interscholastic Federation Division II crown last season.
"She's very solid. Plays great defense. Can make shots," Newton said. "But she's really more of a facilitator and just a great team guard that can really get everyone involved and defend at a high level. She'll have a lot of impact for us."
Another freshman pushing for a starting job is Kalysa Phanhsavang. The 5-6 guard averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game during a four-year varsity career at Stockton's McNair High.
"She's a smaller guard trying to figure out how to translate her abilities from high school to this level, and she's done a great job of feeling her way through some of that stuff," Newton said. "She plays hard, can defend, can shoot it, can do a little bit of everything. She's very skilled."
The Giants plucked a player out of the backyard of reigning state champ Mt. SAC in Walnut product Claire Olia, a 5-9 forward who averaged 14.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game as a senior.
"She's one of our strongest kids in the weight room," Newton said. "She can stretch the floor from the 3-point line, but can also defend and rebound and be tough and physical and athletic."
Demi Boykin, who was a high school teammate of McNeal at Marysville High, will be one of Sequoias' most athletic players. The 5-9 guard, who excels at attacking the basket in transition, averaged 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 steals and 3.5 assists per game as a senior.
"She's one of the biggest upside kids that we have," Newton said. "I think in two years here, she'll be a D-I kid, no doubt in my mind."
Ava King attended NAIA Arizona Christian before transferring to Sequoias at midseason. The 5-9 forward averaged 6.6 points, 15.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a senior for Bakersfield Christian in 2023-2024.
"She's a freak athlete and a phenomenal rebounder," Newton said. "She plays super, super hard."
And rounding out the roster is Vivian Moore, who initially came to Sequoias to run track before deciding to play basketball, too. The 5-4 guard out of Fresno's Central East High averaged 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.9 assists per game last season.
"She's a tenacious defender," Newton said. "A really good, physical, hard-nosed athlete."
Newton said the talent and depth of his recruits will allow Sequoias to be even more relentless than last season, when the Giants allowed the sixth fewest points per game (50.3) in the state, while scoring the most (85.7).
"This team is probably the deepest I've ever had," said Newton, who is 150-53 in seven seasons as a community college head coach, the first six at Butte. "We'll probably be able to go 10 deep, maybe 11, and be able to really put pressure for 40 minutes full court, and also be able to get out on the break and play fast on that side of the ball."
The Giants will be put to the test early, facing three other state powers at the Mt. SAC tournament.
Sequoias launches the season against reigning state runner up Orange Coast at 5 p.m. Oct. 31, face Sweet 16 participant Moorpark at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and square off against defending state champion Mt. SAC at 5 p.m. Nov. 2.
"Losing those three guards from last year hurt, but replacing them with the caliber of kids that we're replacing them with, obviously the thing they lack is experience," Newton said. "So we're going to throw them into the deep end to start the season when we start off with Orange Coast, Moorpark and Mt. SAC."
And the schedule doesn't get much earlier moving forward.
The Giants will face at least five other teams that qualified for the state playoffs in the pre-conference season in Glendale (Nov. 8), Cuesta (Nov. 11), Los Angeles Valley (Dec. 4), Folsom Lake (Dec. 12) and Laney (Dec. 13).
That number will mostly increase when Sequoias learns its opponents for the Gilcrest Invitational (Dec. 4-6) and the Moorpark Tournament (Dec. 18-20).
They will also face 2025 playoff participants in CVC rivals Fresno, Reedley and Taft. CVC play begins at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at home against Taft.
"We play the toughest schedule in the state every year," Newton said. "Two years ago, we had the No. 1 RPI in the state. Last year we had the No. 1 RPI in the state. And I made the schedule harder this year. We're not running from anybody. We're going to play the best of the best."
Sequoias has played in the state's Elite Eight tournament eight times since 2015.
If the Giants reach that stage again this season, they will play before their home crowd as the California Community College Athletic Association selected Porter Field House to host the next two Elite Eight men's and women's basketball tournaments.
The women play March 12 and 14-15, while the men are scheduled for March 13-15.
Sequoias' only state championship came in 1987.
"I think this group has a chance to be very, very talented," Newton said. "One of the best teams in the state. It's just going to take us a little bit of time to kind of figure out how to come together and how to really click the way we need to click and use all our weapons."
The Giants new lead assistant is Tuey, who spent seven seasons as the head coach at College of the Redwoods in Eureka before stepping down prior to last season. Tuey and Newton were coaching rivals in the Golden Valley Conference during Newton's time at Butte.
Newton's assistants last season, Annie Ward and Justin Scheringer, left the program to pursue other opportunities. Ward has become an assistant at Chico State, while Scheringer decided to go back to college in order to earn a teaching credential in hopes of becoming a high school coach.
