Woods Men Silence Sac-City & Women Ground Skyline in Playoff Wins

Thomas Nelson scored 27 points, the Corsairs held the Panthers to six points over the final 9:30 of play to run away with the club's 10th double-digit win of the season, and the No. 8 College of the Redwoods men's basketball team silenced visiting No. 9 Sacramento City College 75-56 amidst a sold out crowd loud enough to shatter a pair of eardrums, Friday night in the second-round of the CCCAA NorCal Regional state championships at CR.

With nine minutes remaining in regulation Bradley Willis worked his into the lane for a layup and a 53-50 lead.

The basket marked the start of a 24-6 Redwoods run which spanned the remainder of regulation and turned what was a neck-and-neck ball game into a yet another blowout win for Redwoods. A couple possessions later Willis followed up the bucket with a steal and a coast-to-coast drive for a layup. On the other end of the floor the freshman out of Fortuna High drew a charge, the third forced by the freshman in the game and the fourth on Sacramento in the second half alone. The two minute span by Willis showcased the freshman's all-around ability and keyed a monstrous game-ending run by the Corsairs.

"In the second half Bradley completely changed the game," Redwoods head coach Ryan Bisio said. "We told him at halftime to put his body on the line and he responded. I'm so proud of him and I hope people leave that gaming knowing he's the one who really tilted things in our favor tonight."

With 5:30 to play Nelson buried a 3-pointer, giving Redwoods its first double-digit lead of the night at 61-50.

Nelson started the night with a quick turnaround jumper from less than seven feet and followed it up with a ally-oop dunk from Zac Claus, who had eight assists in the first half. During a few brief droughts Nelson struggled to shoot the ball, but by large the sophomore who spent his high school career at Arcata High being coached by Bisio was as on as ever, leading Redwoods with first-team all-state and Golden Valley Conference MVP level scoring ability.

"Tom had his struggles early but he worked through them," Bisio said. "He's the most coachable guy you can imagine."

Isaac Puzz, a freshman out of McKinleyville High, scored 13 points including three 3-pointers off the bench in the win. With 2:50 to play Puzz dropped in a tricky mid-range bucket to extend the 'Woods run to 16-3 and put the home team up 67-53.

"I thought Puzz got going against their 2-3 zone and I think he gave them pause about running it," Bisio said. "And I thought his defense was as good as ever tonight."

Drew Gillette scored 19 points in the win. His highlight moment of the night came trailing 40-39 with 15:14 to play in the second half. The freshman out of Fortuna Highb got a 3-pointer to fall while being fouled and converted the rare 4-point play to give Redwoods the lead back  at 43-40.

The back-breaking bucket counted as the final lead change of the night.

"I believe we produce very good basketball players on the North Coast," Bisio said. "I think tonight was an example of how special our guys are, and the rest of the state is going to start to take notice."

Up next

Redwoods will face the winner of No. 1 City College of San Francisco (28-0) against No. 16 San Joaquin Delta (19-10), which will be played on Saturday, on March 7. The winner of that game advances to the elite eight state championships at West Hills-Lemoore College.

Scoring recap

Redwoods (22-5): Nelson 27pts, Gillette 19pts, Puzz 13pts.

Sacramento (20-9): Terry Moody 12pts, Quiezhee Q Gantt 11pts, Conor Jeffery 8pts.

 

WOMEN'S GAMER 

'Woods ground Skyline, move on in hunt for state title

 

Ashley Quigley scored 18 points, the Corsairs defense held the Trojans scoreless for the final two minutes of regulation and the College of the No. 8 Redwoods women's basketball team defeated visiting No. 9 Skyline College 62-60 in the second round of the CCCAA NorCal Regional state championships, Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at CR.

"The girls did an amazing job tonight. They battled all game and really deserved this win," Redwoods head coach Jane Tuey said. "We talked all week about how physical this game would be. We knew we had to step up.

"We played probably the best defense we have all season tonight," the coach said.

Dennise Horton, who scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half during 20 minutes of pure post domination, got a layup to fall with 2:16 to play in the fourth to give Redwoods a 62-58 lead.

The freshman out of Del Norte High spent the majority of the evening being defended by, and playing defense on, Skyline's leading scorer and an all-state selection in 6-foot center Olga Faasolo. Faasolo entered the game as Skyline's leading scorer with a 13.9 points-per-game average.

She scored all of four points Friday night, and Horton's defense was a big reason why.

"(Faasolo) was pretty good, but I felt like I bodied her up pretty well all night," Horton said. "When I play a bigger body I feel confident. I feel like I play better when I am asked to rise to a higher level, and I feel like I did that tonight."

Horton's bucket with just over two minutes to play counted as the final points if the night for Redwoods.

Defense took care of the rest.

Skyline (17-8) made 1-of-7 field goals to close out the game following Horton's bucket, finding nothing in the way of open space as the Corsairs played lights out defense when it mattered most.

During a dramatic 15 second stretch in the waning moments of Friday's contest Skyline got three quality but contested looks at a basket, including two in the painted area.

But they didn't fall. And with five seconds remaining Horton nabbed a rebound off a missed shot by Nicole Brunicardi, all but locking in a state playoff game win for the 'Woods.

Redwoods (21-5) will face the winner of No. 1 San Joaquin Delta vs. No. 16 College of the Siskiyous, which will be played on Saturday, on March 7. The winner of the March 7 contest will be one of four NorCal teams advance to the elite eight state championships at West Hills-Lemoore College.

Early on

Redwoods took a minute to get going offensively Friday night. After an 0-for-5 start from the field as a team Redwoods' leading scorer Ashley Quigley struck from 3-point territory just over three minutes into the game. The shot put Redwoods ahead 5-2, giving the Corsairs their first lead of the half and one the Corsairs would hold until the break.

Brianna Green recorded two of seven steals taken by Redwoods in the first quarter. The freshman scored once and assisted on another basket to close out the first quarter and send Redwoods into the second with a 13-8 lead.

Quigley came alive in the second frame, scoring eight points off a variety of step-back jumpers. Her scoring accounted for half of Redwoods' second quarter points as the Corsairs carried a 29-25 lead into the break.

Redwoods struggled to score in the third, making three field goals in the frame. Horton got to the line four times and came away with five points in the period while Abiona Katri made a key 3-pointer to avoid a larger deficit than the 45-44 margin Redwoods faced entering the fourth quarter.

That deficit quickly evaporated as Darienne Kartes, who missed her first seven attempts from 3-point land, nailed a long-ball to give Redwoods the lead. Brunicardi tied the ball game up on Skyline's next trip down the court but Quigley responded with a 3-pointer, giving Redwoods the last lead it would need Friday night.

Scoring recap

Redwoods: Quigley 18pts, Horton 16pts, Kartes 10pts.

Skyline: Brunicardi 19pts, Jalene Parangan 16pts, Emilia Dougherty 9pts.