State No. 1 Giants soar past century scoring mark again en route to 13th straight win
College of the Sequoias' Morgan Trigueiro scored a game-leading 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting during the Giants' 105-34 victory over Canyons on Dec. 14 at Porter Field House.
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias women's basketball standout Morgan Trigueiro appears to be adjusting pretty well to her new home court.
The sophomore transfer out of Caruthers High is making 50.6 percent of her shots through six home games, ratcheting that up to a 61 percent effort while scoring a game-leading 27 points during the state top-ranked Giants' 105-34 victory over Canyons on Dec. 14 at Porter Field House.
Trigueiro is exceeding the standard she set last season at Butte, where she shot 49 percent from the field at home and 44.4 percent overall for the season while earning first-team All-State Northern California Region honors before following her coach – Tyler Newton – to Sequoias.
The 5-foot-9 guard sank 11 of 18 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range, while also contributing seven assists, five rebounds and two steals as the Giants rolled past unranked Canyons (3-7) to their 13th straight win to open the season.
Sequoias (13-0) is one of only two undefeated teams across the state. No. 7 Sierra (7-0) is the other.
"It feels like home," said Trigueiro, who helped Butte go 30-2 and reach the state semifinals last season. "I'm seeing a lot of open threes, I've just got to knock them down."
Trigueiro had nine points on 4 of 7 shooting as Sequoias raced out to a 25-3 first quarter lead. The Giants didn't allow a point for the first 8 minutes and 8 seconds of the first quarter while forcing 11 turnovers and five missed shots by Canyons.
Sequoias outscored the Cougars 32-4 in the second quarter, putting it well on the way to topping the century scoring mark for the second straight game. The Giants dismantled visiting Hartnell 115-43 on Dec. 12.
After limiting Canyons to 2 of 25 shooting in the first half, the Cougars shot 12 for 30 in the second half, giving first-year coach Newton a point of contention in an otherwise easy victory.
"I thought that we weren't as sharp as we could have been in a lot of areas," Newton said. "I feel like our defensive intensity and our principals defensively, there was some slippage throughout the game."
Newton acknowledged that maintaining defensive intensity is difficult when the score gets out of hand.
"It's very hard, but at the same time, very similar to practice every day, you gotta find your why, and you gotta get out here and stay motivated and hold each other accountable and to a standard.
"I told the girls the same thing in the locker room, it's hard. What I'm asking you to do is very, very hard. But the best teams, in order to get to where we want to go this year, we've got to have a championship effort every single night, no matter who the opponent is."
Trigueiro agreed that the Giants could have – and need to – play better if they are to capture their ultimate prize: the state championship. Sequoias' only state title came in 1987.
"I still don't think we're playing to a standard one through 13 right now," Trigueiro said. "That's something we've got to work on, to come out the same way every single game no matter who's in front of us.
"I think we're the best team in the state when we want to be. We've just got to figure out how to lock in every single day, and prepare the same way and come out and put our best product on the floor no matter what."
The Giants' commanding first-half lead gave Newton a chance to give extended minutes to his eight-woman bench. They combined to play 105 minutes and provide 40 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals, led by an 11-point, five-rebound, two-steal, one-assist and one-block performance from Kaitlin Giacone (Eureka).
"I thought there were a lot of really good things, too, especially for some girls who don't get a lot of minutes for us," Newton said. "There were some bright spots in the things that we did. But I also felt like there was a lot of slippage, and things that I know that those kids are better at, and we just weren't all the way focused."
Sequoias' starting five combined for 65 points, including 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals from Jocelyn Medina (Arbuckle); and 10 points, seven assists, three steals, two rebounds and a block from Campbell Vieg (Chico). Olivia Gill contributed eight points and two rebounds, while Lucia Ricci (Seattle) added four points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Off the bench, the Giants received nine points, three rebounds and two steals from Tylie Hatcher (Cloverdale); eight points and an assist from Jacalyn Gorbet (Crescent City); four points, three steals, two assists and a rebound from Anisa Torres (Caruthers); four points, two rebounds an assist and a steal from Mallary Gonzalez (Hoover-Fresno); two points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals from Teresa Sandoval (Hanford West); two points, two assists and a rebound from Emily Pallesi (Reedley) and two rebounds from Maya McNeal (Marysville).
"I don't want them to waste that opportunity," Newton said of the extended minutes he gave to his reserves, and the high standard he held them to while in the game. "When I put them in, it's because I have confidence in them and they're supposed to do their job. So they should have confidence in themselves to go out there and do what they're supposed to do. I told them if you make mistakes, make mistakes being aggressive. Don't be scared, go play your game. It's good for them to get some confidence. And I think that it helps us when we get to the postseason to be well-rounded."
Up next for Sequoias is its last three games before launching Central Valley Conference play on Jan. 8 – all against state-ranked opposition in No. 5 Moorpark (7-3) at 7 p.m. Dec. 19, No. 3 Orange Coast at 3 p.m. Dec. 20 and No. 14 Palomar at 3 p.m. Dec. 21 during the Tommy Arellano North-South Showcase at Moorpark College.
The Giants previously defeated two-time reigning state champ Orange Coast (81-63) and Moorpark (68-58) during the Mt. San Antonio Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 1-3 in Walnut.
"There is great history behind all those programs," Newton said. "We know everytime we play them, it's going to be a dog fight. And you know, if you don't bring your best, you can get beat. So for us, it's not necessarily about winning and losing at this point. I'm not scared to lose. It's more about testing ourselves to see what we've learned about each other this year. If we can solve the puzzle every time we step on the floor and get it done."