By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods women’s basketball head coach Jain Tuey will be looking at some different options this weekend, as the Corsairs get set to host their own tournament.

Starting spots are still up grabs, as the CR coach is still weighing up her best options, and what her most efficient lineup is going to be.

“We’re still trying to figure some things out,” Tuey said. “We’re still trying to figure out who works better off the bench, and who starts with a higher intensity.”

The tournament schedule has changed this week, with the field reduced to three teams, and will now feature one game on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Corsairs open against Simpson JV on Friday night at 6 p.m., with Hesston out of Kansas playing Simpson JV on Saturday at noon, and CR and Hesston closing out the weekend action on Sunday at noon.

And with a young squad, the Corsairs are still coming together, although the head coach likes some of the progress she’s seen.

After a disappointing showing at the Sierra tournament right before Thanksgiving, the Corsairs bounced back with a far stronger performance at the recent Shasta tournament.

And Tuey will be hoping to see more of the latter this weekend.

“We’ve been putting in some more plays and sets and working on getting everyone on the same page,” Tuey said. “And getting the girls confident and comfortable with each other.”

Purify leads the way

Sophomore Bobbie Purify continues to lead the team with 13.5 points a game, as well as averaging 6.4 rebounds.

Bree Northern has wasted little time adapting to the college game after moving over from Arcata High, and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers, scoring 10.9 a game.

Another freshman, Darienna Kartes out of Fortuna, has also had an immediate impact, and is averaging a team-high 8.4 boards, to go with 12 points.

Another Fortuna player, Taylor Murray, had a big tournament off the bench at Shasta and is now averaging 10.6 points a game.

Injuries and late additions to the squad from players that were playing volleyball and soccer put the Corsairs behind schedule early on, but having a full squad again recently has helped their growth.

“At the Shasta tournament we made some adjustments and got everybody on the same page, and now we’ve had a few more practices with the whole group,” Tuey said. “We went in fired up … They played well and showed a lot of growth from the previous tournament.”