Submitted photo – Moriah Bowles at her letter signing ceremony at College of the Redwoods on Thursday.

By Ray Hamill — There’s no denying the success former Eureka Loggers are enjoying on the college basketball courts.

In recent years, head coaches Mike Harvey and Cliff Napoleon, along with their assistant coaches, have clearly done an outstanding job of preparing their players for the next level.

Players like Kaitlin Giacone, Isis Poteet, Aniah Gaither and Makaila and Mariah Napoleon have all enjoyed impressive runs on the college courts over the past few years, and now another former Logger is adding to that legacy.

On Thursday, 2023 Eureka high graduate Moriah Bowles announced that she will be continuing her playing career at a four-year school after two big seasons at College of the Redwoods, committing her future to Simpson University, where she will join her former Loggers teammate Mariah Napoleon.

And for Bowles, the opportunity to join the NAIA program came about by chance, as it often does for many student-athletes.

The CR shooting guard, who has been a dynamic 3-point threat at every stage of her career, caught the eyes of Simpson head coach Anthony Taylor when he was still an assistant coach with the program a year ago, along with current CR head coach Bree Northern.

“Last year, we played at Shasta and I ended up having a really good game,” Bowles explained. “And coach Bree and coach Taylor were at that game and they watched me play, and he said to coach Bree ‘I need that girl on our team next year.’”

This season, Taylor took over as head coach at Simpson, while Northern took over at CR, and he recached out to his former co-assistant to make sure it would happen.

And it all came about because Bowles had an impressive night at the right time.

“It was kind of crazy I had a good game there and they both happened to be in the crowd,” Bowles said.

The sophomore guard has grown as a player since her time as a Logger and she played a key role for the Corsairs this season, starting all 28 games for the team, including last week’s playoff showdown at Santa Rosa.

But her ability to shoot the 3 was far from the only thing she brought to CR.

“Moriah had a significant impact on the team this season,” Northern said. “Not only was she a key leader for us, but her ability to shoot the 3 ball made her a great threat out on the floor.

Submitted photo

“Moriah’s leadership and experience set a great example for the rest of the team.”

Bowles finished with 57 3-pointers on the season and shot 29.7 percent from downtown, which was fifth best in the Golden Valley Conference.

But perhaps what makes her a perfect fit for the next level is her attitude and hunger to improve her game, and she knows she needs to continue to work on that if she wants to succeed at Simpson.

“I need to get my shot more consistent,” she said. “And faster. And I have to work on other aspects of my game.”

Northern, who also played two years at CR and two years at Simpson before beginning her coaching career at the latter, believes Bowles will be a success at the next level.

“I am so excited that she is going to be playing at Simpson University,” she said. “She has worked so hard for this opportunity and I cannot wait to see her do great things there.”

When asked what her role with the Red Hawks will be, Bowles responded with a chuckle.

“Shooting,” she said. “But that’s what they want, a shooter. It’s very similar to my role everywhere I’ve played.”

While she admits she is excited about the move to Simpson, Bowles also says she enjoyed her time at CR and that her game benefitted from playing under Northern and former head coach Jain Tuey.

And especially this past season, as the Corsairs overcame a lot of adversity and a ton of injuries on their way to making the playoffs, despite playing with just seven players for much of the season.

They closed out the campaign strong, winning three of their final four regular-season games to secure the postseason berth, and they gave the Bear Cubs all they could handle in a 54-46 loss once they got there.

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Moriah Bowles during her playing days at Eureka High.

“It was really fun,” she said of the season. “Especially with the team going through as much adversity as we did, having all the injuries to push through. 

“We knew (Sate Rosa) was a good team and we had a chance to beat them.

“It was really fun learning with that (CR) team.”

While she admits it was a “little disappointing how it ended,” Bowles enjoyed the experience nonetheless, especially playing with so many players she had played against in high school and developing an on-court chemistry and friendship with them.

“They were all from schools I played against in high school, and Aniah, who I played with for five years,” she said. “It was super fun.”

And beneficial.

“I think I gained a lot of confidence in my ability other than just shooting 3s,” Bowles added.

As for what she’ll remember the most from her time at CR?

“The relationships I made with people,” she said. “I have a really good relationship with coach Bree and coach Tuey and coach (DJ) Snowton.”

Bowles, who wants to major in Biblical Studies, also is thankful for her high school coaches — including Napoleon, Romeo Steele and Jesse Genaro — all of whom she says helped prepare her for the college courts.

CR closed out the year with a record of 11-17 and Bowles will be joining a Simpson program that went 14-10, including a 7-3 mark in the Cal-Pac Conference.