Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — If head coach Jain Tuey and the Redwoods players have anything to say about it, the wait won’t be as long the next time.

On Wednesday night, the CR women capped a memorable season on the basketball court for the school with a championship-clinching 83-61 win at home to Shasta.

The victory means the Corsairs are co-champions of the Golden Valley Conference along with Butte, which defeated Feather River 82-52.

It is the Corsairs’ first title in 40 years and only their second ever.

“I’m speechless,” Tuey said after the win, which saw the CR women pull away in the second half. “I hope we can just keep going with it.”

Like with the men’s team, this championship roster is full of local players, and Tuey is hoping the success they have achieved will encourage other local standouts to play at CR.

“I’m hoping, with the local kids we have especially, that (other local players) recognize this and want to be a part of it,” the coach said.

Their success certainly has been noticed within the local community, with another large crowd on hand for the championship-deciding clash.

It was a battle early for the CR women, who appeared relaxed and ready to go before tip-off — perhaps too relaxed, Tuey said.

Either way, the visiting Knights made a game of it for the first half, but the Corsairs began to take control of the game after the interval, with some pinpoint perimeter shooting in the third quarter.

The CR women hit six 3-pointers for the period — including three by Ashley Quigley — and outscored the visitors 30-8 to end the game as a contest.

Bree Northern, who has been outstanding for CR at guard all season, scored a game-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while Brianna Green chipped in 12.

Dennise Horton also had a big game with 11 points, while Mikaela Arnold, Darienne Kartes and Juliana Ortega-Miranda each finished with six points.

It remains to be seen if the Corsairs, who closed out the regular season 20-5, will have a home playoff game.

Regardless, Tuey likes her team’s chances of making some noise in the postseason.

“With this group I know we could go far,” the head coach said. “I think we have great energy and we’re playing really well.”

The CR women have won 11 of their last 13 games, including an 8-2 mark in a tough conference.