BUTTE VALLEY — Is the third time the charm? The Butte College women’s basketball team certainly hopes so heading into the program’s third straight Elite Eight in the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship.
Ranked No. 1 in the state, the Roadrunners (29-1) tip off at 3 p.m. Thursday against Long Beach City College (20-9) at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. Their half of the bracket also features Folsom Lake (22-8) and Glendale (28-2). The top-seeded Southern California team, Moorpark (27-3), heads the other half bracket with opening opponent Laney (24-4) as well as defending champion Orange Coast (27-3) and San Joaquin Delta (26-4).
Butte reached the state title game last season, and should it reach the final and win, the program will secure its first state title under the current format, dating to 1985. In 1983, when the postseason ended at the regionals, the Roadrunners won a division title.
The lone team to beat this year’s group isn’t in the field but, ironically, is the host. Mt. Sac rallied to edge the Roadrunners 65-62 in overtime in the final of its preseason tournament. Since, Butte has won 26 straight — and teams toppled over the course of the season include five of its fellow quarterfinalists.
“The only teams we haven’t played are Glendale and Long Beach,” sophomore forward Aubrey Prunty said. “I’m super excited about that (opportunity in the quarterfinals).”
Long Beach poses a challenge similar to Mt. SAC. The Roadrunners’ tallest player is 5-foot-10 forward Giselle Rodriguez, a freshman reserve averaging 5.2 points per game. The Vikings feature four 5-10 freshmen — all guards, including leading scorer Brillana Boyd (17.4 ppg) — and 6-1 sophomore post player Chioma Okenwa (8.2 ppg, 9.2 rebounds).
Freshman guard Morgan Trigueiro leads Butte’s balanced offense with 15.8 ppg, closely followed by sophomore guard/forward Madalynn Bassett and freshman guard Jocelyn Medina (11.4 ppg each), with freshman guard Campbell Vieg and sophomore guard Sarah Tait (9.0 ppg each) not far behind. Tait is the lone returning starter from the 2022-23 state finalists.
Tyler Newton, in his seventh season as head coach of the Roadrunners, described Long Beach as “a very good group of players. They’re athletic, they’re huge, they really try to use their size to pound the ball inside and affect the game with physicality and rebounding.
“It’s the polar opposite of what we do; it’s the historical matchup of the big, bruising team versus the fundamentally sound, shooting, play together type of group. So, (we’re) excited for the matchup.”
The Roadrunners this season also contrast with their predecessor squad led by Northern California Player of the Year Meghan Weinrich, now playing NCAA Division I basketball at Oral Roberts University.
“I think overall we’re more talented; the bench goes deeper this year,” said Butte assistant coach Annie Ward, whose four seasons include the three Elite Eight appearances. “I know we’re a little undersized this year, but we make up for it in the pace we play. We play fast; our transition is awesome, and we shoot the ball at a high clip.”
Over the course of this 29-win run, Butte beat Moorpark twice, Orange Coast, Folsom Lake, San Joaquin Delta and Laney.
“The Elite Eight is not like (competing for) a conference title,” Newton observed. “A conference title is something where I’d think the third time’s the charm because to get to that point, I think, is more attainable and easier — whereas the Elite Eight to me, coming from a junior college kid myself, is kind of like the holy grail of achievements in junior college on the men’s or women’s side.
“A lot of coaches I know have coached their whole lives, 25 years, and never been to even one Elite Eight. I sometimes have to take a step back and really look at what we’ve really done with the program and how special it is.”
CCCAA Championship
Quarterfinals
Butte College vs. Long Beach City College
3 p.m., Mount San Antonio College, Walnut
Livestream: baosn.tv/cccaa
