Sequoias May Be Difficult to Fell in JC State Finals

State championships don’t grow on trees, but Valley College women’s basketball Coach Doug Michelson wouldn’t be surprised to see one hanging from Sequoias this Saturday night.

That’s as in College of the Sequoias, which has a 33-3 record entering the eight-team California junior college championships at Valley College and is the top-seeded team from the northern half of the state.

“I would think going in that Sequoias is the favorite . . . because most teams do not match up with its size and quickness,” Michelson said.

Sequoias routed defending state champion Santa Rosa, 71-44, to reach the quarterfinals, which begin at 2 this afternoon with Los Angeles Trade Tech (28-1) meeting American River College (26-4).

Valley, making its second consecutive appearance in the state championships under Michelson, will play San Mateo at 6 tonight.

The field comprises four teams from each of the Northern and Southern regions. Valley (29-3), seeded third in the south and fifth in the state, has won 13 games in a row and 19 of its past 20.

“All eight teams are tough and there is a lot of parity in this tournament,” Michelson said. “We are a very good shooting team and I like our chances.”

Michelson said that he expects San Mateo (29-1), the Northern region’s No. 2-seeded team, to run a zone defense against the Monarchs, who average 82.2 points a game. Valley has three players who average 10 or more points: Sophomore center Ruth Aguilar (14.7), freshman forward Sandrine Rocher (12.1) and freshman guard Tisa Rush (11.5).

San Mateo, the Golden Gate Conference champion, has won 21 games in a row and has not lost since Dec. 7. Sophomore forward Valencia Hedgebeth is averaging a team-high 14 points.

Valley, which won the Western State Conference Southern Division title, advanced to the state championships with a 64-54 victory over Moorpark, rallying from an 11-point deficit.

If Valley wins tonight, it will advance to the semifinals against the winner of the Fullerton-Contra Costa game. Fullerton (26-1) has won 15 consecutive games and is the top-seeded team from the Southern region. Contra Costa (28-8) is seeded fourth among Northern region teams.

Sequoias will open against Golden West (14-16), the No. 4-seeded team from the Southern region, at 4 p.m.