Basketball

Big performance gives Redwoods momentum going into playoffs

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The College of the Redwoods basketball teams will find out their playoff seeds and opening-round opponents on Sunday after each closed out the regular season this week.

The CR men got the better of Lassen in their home finale on Monday to secure second place in the Golden Valley Conference, falling just shy of a fifth conference championship in six years.

The CR women also beat Lassen in their conference and home finale on Monday to seal second in the GVC, but also played two more non-conference games against conference opponents in Redding later in the week.

On Thursday, the Redwoods women matched up against Feather River and fell 51-49, but they followed that with a much better game the following day, pushing the Butte Roadrunners all the way to the final buzzer in a 79-78 loss.

GVC champs Butte is the No. 5 ranked team in NorCal and No. 17 in the state.

“We played a lot better today. We moved the ball well, hit shots and had a ton of energy,” CR head coach Bree Northern said after Friday’s narrow loss. “It was a tight game all the way through.”

CR enjoyed balanced scoring in the game, with six different players finishing with at least nine points, led by Itzel Torres with 16 points.

After splitting two conference games against the Roadrunners, Redwoods had a chance at second win over Butte at the end of the game.

However, a late shot bounced in and out and the Roadrunners held on for the win.

Their only loss in their last 13 games came against CR, which matches up well against the GVC champs.

“I am so proud of my team and how we completely turned it around today in our game,” Northern said after Friday’s showdown. “Butte is a great team and we found a way to battle the whole time and keep it close.”

Nora Talty added 14 points in the loss, including three 3-pointers, while Mayleah Jackson and Addison Wingate each scored 10 points, and Paityn Erlenbush and Cayenne Pruter each chipped in nine points, with three 3s by the latter.

With the loss, the CR dropped to 16-12, while Butte improved to 22-5.

Redwoods, however, had a disappointing night shooting the ball against Feather River on Thursday, with just one player finishing in double-digits in scoring.

“We started off very slow and had low energy,” Northern said. “Feather came out the gate working hard with high intensity. We struggled to get in a rhythm, but eventually were able to after the first quarter.

“Feather did a great job of taking us out of what we do and impacting our offensive game.”

Jackson scored a team-high 15 points in the loss, while Torres added eight points and Erlenbush chipped in six points.

“Our shots weren’t falling tonight, but we found a way to keep it close the whole second half,” Northern said after Thursday’s game. “It really came down to the last minute and we had a shot to tie, but unfortunately weren’t able to execute.”

After the two close games, the CR women will now turn their attention to next week’s playoff opener.

“We are look to carry the momentum and confidence from (Friday’s) game into (the playoffs),” Northern said.

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