Fourth-quarter explosion carries Giants to CVC women's basketball win over Reedley

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Now that was what College of the Sequoias women's basketball coach Tyler Newton has been waiting for.

Newton's state No. 25-ranked Giants scored 32 points in the fourth quarter -- their most in any quarter this season -- to pull away from Reedley for an 88-59 Central Valley Conference victory on Feb. 4 at Porter Field House.

It's been an erratic season to date for Sequoias, one that started with lofty expectations and a preseason state No. 2 ranking before reaching a low point following an 80-71 loss to Fresno City College on Jan. 17 that left the Giants two games under .500 and outside the state top 25.

Sequoias (13-11, 6-2) has since won four straight and moved back into the latest state poll released Feb. 2 in a tie with Santa Ana.

"I told the girls, you weren't dreaming, that was you," Newton said. "I feel like we've been having this kind of cloud over us where we just can't figure out how to get over the hump and play the right way. I see that in practice and that's why it's been so confusing why we've been struggling in games. We played fast, but we were composed. We shared the ball. Girls shot shots with confidence. That's who we are. And that's why if we find a way to get that going for four quarters, we can do anything we want to do this year."

Playing most of the fourth quarter with a smaller-than-normal lineup -- primarily forward Gabby Brooks (Henderson, Nev.) and guards Kalysa Phanhsavang (Stockton), Nyla Anderson (Austin, Texas), Izabel Mendez (Caruthers High) and Sydney Chesnut (Henderson, Nev.) -- the Giants shot 60 percent (12 of 20) from the field and a blistering 70 percent (7 of 10) from 3-point range. Their lead reached a zenith of 30 points (87-57) on a layup by Ava King (Bakersfield Christian) with 54 seconds remaining in the game.

"I wanted to spread the floor. I knew we were going to get hurt a little bit on the boards, because we're not all that big. But I felt offensively, if we could get stops, we could play faster on the break," Newton said. "We could share the ball more. And in the zone, we could space the floor better and have shooters everywhere so they couldn't sag off on anybody. And it ended up working out.

"We were being unselfish. We were finding each other. We were making the extra pass. Girls were shooting their shots with confidence. That's what it's about."

The 32-point explosion came after Sequoias got outscored 17-16 in the third quarter and saw a 19-point lead (50-31) dwindle to seven (53-46) following a 3-pointer by Taylor Rombaoa with 1 minute and 12 seconds to play in the third. The Giants previous best quarter this season was 31 points in the third quarter of an 82-46 home win over Cuesta on Nov. 11.

"(Newton) definitely gave us a talk after the third," said Phanhsavang, who scored six of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, while also contributing nine rebounds and seven assists. "It was just motivation for us to keep working hard like we always do. We were just executing way more better and just being more confident in ourselves."

Brooks scored all of her game-high 25 points in the first half as the Giants opened a 40-29 lead on Reedley (14-10, 3-5). Brooks made 6 of 8 3-point attempts. She also contributed two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Anderson made 6 of her 11 shots and finished with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Mendez delivered 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Sequoias also received six points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal from Chesnut; four points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal from Olivia Gill (Woodland); three points, five rebounds, a steal and a block from Mallary Gonzalez (Hoover High-Fresno); two points, three rebounds and a steal from Demi Boykin (Marysville); two points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal from King; and one point and two rebounds from Maya McNeal (Marysville).

"Earlier in the season when we were playing good teams, we'd go up 12 or whatever going into the fourth and we'd find a way to melt down and lose," Newton said. "(Reedley) cut it to single digits in the third and instead of us folding or panicking or whatever, we regrouped and came out and played a fourth quarter strong like we're supposed to. I feel like that was a big step for us, showing we can go and do that."

Reigning champion Sequoias sits in third place in the CVC title chase behind No. 11 Fresno City (17-6, 7-0) and No. 19 Lemoore (18-6, 7-1).

The Giants can forge a tie for second place with a victory over Lemoore when they host the Eagles at 5 p.m. Feb. 7. Lemoore topped Sequoias 75-56 on Jan. 14 during the first round of CVC play.

"They whipped us up pretty good last time," Newton said. "They are huge. They are athletic. They sit in that zone for 40 minutes. We have to find a way to play physical, play fearless. We have to move the ball and find good shots. And we have to knock them down with confidence. I feel like we are going to be a different team this time around with them. But again, they are really good and if we want to go where we want to go, we have to keep moving forward. So we have a big challenge. We've got two days of practice to prepare and we'll be ready."