Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The College of the Redwoods women will be hoping to extend their season when they open the basketball playoffs on Wednesday night against a team they know all about.

The Corsairs, who received the No. 21 seed in the NorCal tournament, will play No. 12 Sierra at William Jessup University in Rocklin, with tip off set for 7 p.m.

The two teams faced of earlier in the season all the way back in mid November, with the higher seeds winning 81-58.

However, early in the campaign the Corsairs were missing several players still playing volleyball and head coach Jain Tuey believes the familiarity will help her players.

And the players themselves are looking forward to the opportunity of representing their school at this level.

“The girls are excited and we’re happy to be here,” Tuey said. “I feel like we have a good game plan. Its’s going to be a battle.”

Tuey is also hoping to see her players embrace the challenge.

This is a team that has thrived this year with a balanced lineup, with several players capable of stepping up on any given night.

But while that makes it more difficult for an opponent to focus in on any one player, it sometimes also means the players wait for a teammate to step up.

Tuey is hoping her players realize that.

“I’ve been telling the girls all week to have the mentality if they have a shot they need to take it and not look for somebody else,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever said this as a coach, but I hope same of them are a little more selfish.”

The Sierra women come in with a record of 17-11 and have been a force in the paint all season, with a couple of dominating post players and a dangerous guard accounting for most of their scoring.

And because of that, Sierra has dominated many opponents on the boards, out-rebounding them by 14 a game.

“We anticipate it being a pretty physical game and a lot of points in the paint,” Tuey said.

To counter that, the Corsairs will play zone defense and “pack it in the paint,” according to her coach.

“As for us offensively, we really need to take care of the basketball and play together and be aggressive,” Tuey added. “I think we’re going to need everyone to be locked in.”

The good news for the Corsairs going into the big showdown is that they are mostly healthy, with just Molly Slayton missing for the game as she gets set to undergo surgery for a torn ACL.

The Corsairs also will carry plenty of momentum into the game after wining five of their final seven regular-season games.

And at this stage of the season, going up against a higher seed on the road, the Corsairs have nothing to lose.