Women’s Basketball into State Tourney with 5 All-GVC Players, 7 Wins in Last 8 Games

The Eagle women's basketball team surged into Round 1 of the state playoffs by winning 7 of its final 8 regular season games, including a 100-84 victory over Redwoods that lifted them, briefly, into a second place tie in the Golden Valley Conference.

After finishing third in the GVC behind Butte and Redwoods, the Eagles improved their overall record to 15-13 by winning their two conference crossover tournament games Feb. 19 and 20 in Redding.

Seeded No. 18 in the state's NorCal Regionals, Siskiyous is scheduled to open the postseason at the home of a familiar foe, No. 15 Los Medanos, Wednesday night at 7 pm.

The Eagles will head south with all five starters, four of them freshmen, possessing all-conference honors. Sophomore point guard Alexes Collier and freshman guard/forward Kady Lindstrom both made the All-GVC 1st Team. Freshmen point guard Ashley Wicks and guard/forward K'shalee Smartt-Thomas are two of the five picks for the GVC's All-Freshman Team. Freshman guard/forward Alayja Oliver is All-GVC Honorable Mention.

Los Medanos, which tied for second in the Bay Valley Conference, is 20-8 overall, but one of those losses was to Siskiyous, 73-63, in the third game of the season, in mid-November, at Los Medanos.

When the two teams faced each other again a month later at the Napa Valley College Tournament, the Eagles led by as many as 15 points in the second half, led 49-44 after three quarters, then lost all momentum in what became a 73-61 Los Medanos victory.

"I think it's a good matchup for us," Eagles head coach Noelle Collier said of Los Medanos. "They move the ball well and can shoot. We'll need to rebound; they can get put-backs. We've been talking about that. They don't have one all-star but they're all pretty good. They've improved and we've improved."

Redwoods (8-2 GVC, 16-12) is seeded No. 11 in the NorCal Regionals and hosts No. 21 Hartnell. GVC champion Butte (9-1, 22-5) is seeded No. 6 and one of eight NorCal teams with a first round bye. Delta is No. 1, Folsom Lake 2, Laney 3, Fresno 4, Santa Rosa 5, San Francisco 7, Sequoias 8.

With a win in their state playoff opener, the Eagles would advance to play at No. 2 Folsom Lake Saturday, Feb. 28.

The Eagles improvement stood out the night they scored 100 points against Redwoods and moved to within one game of league-leading Butte.

Their inexperience was apparent at times when they went 6-10 in pre-conference games. But after beating Redwoods, they improved to 6-2 in conference, 12-12 overall, and had a chance to pull into a first place tie when they went to Butte for their penultimate GVC game four days later. Though nothing went right during a 70-48 loss that night, the Eagles finished conference with 65-49 home win over Feather River then beat Shasta and Lassen in the crossover tourney.

Coach Collier noted that all three games they played against Shasta were tough, and they won all three, which isn't easy to do. "We're going in the right direction at the right time," she said. "We had no bad losses, and the girls are all figuring out their roles."

With such a young roster this season, Collier said, "There was a lot of learning for me. But I could see their development and see what they had to go through. It's working out. We're seeing it come to fruition."

Noelle Collier is now five for five in taking her Eagle women's basketball teams to the playoffs since she replaced legendary head coach Tom Powers. The last two years she's done it while coaching her daughter. The team's leading scorer for the second year in a row, Alexes Collier is a two-time 1st Team All-GVC selection. This year, Alexes and their other 1st Teamer, Kady Lindstrom, were top two on the team in nearly every statistical category.

Alexes averaged 17.6 points per game, Kady 10.5. Kady averaged 10.2 rebounds, Alexes 6.6. Kady had a 45.0 field goal percentage, Alexes 39.7. Kady led the team in free throw percentage (79.8) and steals (71), Alexes was second in free throw percentage (68.1) and steals (59). Alexes had 14 blocked shots, Kady 9. Kady also led the team in assists (94, while Ashley Wicks was second with 93 and Alexes third with 83. Freshman Kaitlin Mandell, who averaged 8.6 points per game, led the team with a 31.1 three-point shooting percentage, and Alexes was second at 30.6.

Alexes leads the conference in scoring; Kady leads the conference in rebounding. Kady is 2nd in conference in free throw percentage and steals, 4th in field goal percentage and assists. Alexes is 4th in three-point percentage and free throw percentage and 5th in steals. Kaitlin is 3rd in conference in three-point percentage, Ashley Wicks is 5th in assists and free throw percentage.

Coach Collier praised Mandell for the significant role she's played coming off the bench, including shooting threes, making steals, and grabbing rebounds. "All our players are used to being scorers (in high school)," she said. "They have to learn, if you're not a scorer, what to contribute."

One of Alexes Collier's goals this year was to score 1,000 points in two years. She's going to Los Medanos with 998. But as the statistics show, she does a lot more than score. "She

plays 40 minutes and does whatever it takes," said her coach and mom. "She's only 5-5, but she can jump. To be able to coach her was so great. We had a great time, and that doesn't always happen with coaches and their kids. Alexes takes it in and knows how to run with it. I'm proud of her as a coach and mom."

Just like her mom, Alexes was named 3rd Team All-State as an Eagle sophomore, but her mom does claim a higher second year scoring average.

Coach Collier said Kady Lindstrom's rebounding has been "huge" for the Eagles throughout the season, and her shooting has improved, including going 4 for 4 on field goal attempts in their last game, an 84-35 crossover win over Lassen.

Having two of the five players on the GVC's All-Freshman Team is significant, Collier said. K'shalee Smartt-Thomas averaged 10.3 points per game with 33 steals, 42 assists and 7 blocked shots. She was second on the team to Alexes Collier with 59 three-point baskets, while Kaitlin Mandell is third with 55. "She's starting to feel the rhythm of the game and has a green light to shoot," Coach Collier said of K'shalee. "Her shooting percentage went up in conference, and her basketball IQ and understanding improved. She can play outside or go big as well."

Ashley Wicks (Portola) and Alayja Oliver (Weed) both earned postseason honors after arriving from small high schools. Ashley was third on the team in free throw percentage (64.3), third in steals (41), and second in assists (93), while sharing the point guard role and averaging 8.4 points per game. "She takes pride in her defense and had several huge steals for us. She can shut people down. She's figuring out her role: she doesn't have to score but does many other important things."

Alayja Oliver averaged 9.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, had a 36.6 field goal percentage, a 61.4 free throw percentage, and 42 assists. "So many people have told me they see her growth from high school to college," Coach Collier said. "It can be tough to play for the same coach for four years in high school, then everything is different in college. She's done a nice job. And energy-wise, she brings so much to the team. She got out of her comfort zone when I had her cover Shasta's big post, and she made a big difference. She's so long and athletic. I'm really proud of her and she'll only get better."

Another key player this season has been the only other sophomore on the roster, Rayana Atkins, who has averaged 3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with 28 steals and 26 assists.

By Steve Gerace