Eagle Women Open GVC at Home After Winning 8 Of Last 10

Making the most of an eight-player roster, the Eagle women's basketball team will start conference play at home this week after winning 8 of its last 10 games.

The Eagles went 11-6 while playing 16 of their 17 preseason games on the road. They're scheduled to host Lassen (6-10) Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Golden Valley Conference opener for both teams. The women's game follows the men's game, which will tip off at 5 p.m.

"That was a long stretch on the road. It feels good to be home again," said head coach Noelle Collier.

After a slow start, the Eagle women evened their record at 4-4 with a win over Foothill on Dec. 6 at the Hartnell Tournament in Salinas. Their only losses after that were against strong opponents, San Jose (15-2) and Cypress (11-5).

They lost to Cypress, 63-50, in the first round of the San Jose City Tournament on Dec. 27, their first game back after the holiday break. Then they finished the tourney with "good wins" over GVC foe Butte (70-64) and Pasadena City (52-45).

Collier said it was good to beat Butte, last year's undefeated conference champions. "They've got four returners, and they're still good. They'll be tough in conference," she said.

Freshman guard Alexes Collier scored 11, 22 and 21 in the three San Jose City tourney games and made the all-tourney team. She leads the team in scoring with just under 19 points and 2 steals per game and is averaging 5.5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Sophomore point guard Tatum Allen is averaging 11 points, 3 assists and 4.5 rebounds, while five other Eagles are averaging between 6 and 10 points.

Sophomore guard/forward Grace Hubbard, who leads the team with 4 offensive and 9.5 total rebounds per game, is also averaging 9.5 points.

Sophomore guard Samantha Freitas is averaging 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and leads the team with 4 assists per game. Freshman forward/center Samantha Gish is averaging 7 points and 4.5 rebounds; sophomore forward Ella Sannar is averaging just under 6 points and 6.5 rebounds; freshman guard Kaelyn Lange is averaging 4 points and 3.5 rebounds; and freshman guard Ryana Atkins is averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Coach Collier said the Eagles improved throughout the preseason and are a stronger team going into conference. She said rebounding has been one of their strengths, and they've gotten better at scoring in the paint when opponents focus their defense on the guards.

"We're outrebounding most teams and holding them to one shot on most possessions," the coach said. "Grace has done a great job figuring out angles, and with the length of her arms she's good at pulling rebounds down. Our shooting has been streaky in some games, but we can get offensive rebounds and score on put-backs."

She said the team's four sophomores "have done a great job figuring out what they're supposed to do," while the four freshmen have adjusted to the increased speed and physicality of community college basketball and are "playing better in high pressure situations."

As the preseason progressed, Collier said the Eagles' shooting percentage went up, and they were getting more shots. "We went through a learning process of 'what shots should I be taking?' and 'is it a good choice?' For the guards it was 'should I be passing?' Getting smarter on the court is always good."

At 11-6, the Eagles have the best preseason record of the five teams that will compete in this year's GVC. Shasta is 10-8, Butte 8-8, Redwoods 7-9, and Lassen 6-10.

With Feather River without a team in the GVC for the second year in a row, the Eagles are scheduled to play just four conference games in January and four in February.

"We'll have to be mentally tough," Collier said. "Butte and Redwoods also had good wins at the San Jose City tourney, and Shasta is always tough. The GVC is going to be close. We need to come to play every night."

By Steve Gerace