In its 50th season, Sierra College women’s basketball team seeks state championship repeat
The team is down to seven players. A double-digit scorer is on crutches, out with a knee injury.
Practices are a challenge since they work better with 5-on-5 drills, which isn’t easy with just a handful of able bodies. So the invitation for Sierra College women’s basketball players of yesteryear to come in for a scrimmage on the Rocklin campus isn’t just there, it’s encouraged.
And this: The Wolverines, the No. 13 seed in the California Community College Northern California regional playoffs, have become road warriors. They have bucked the odds and the mileage by winning at higher-seeded Fresno, 85-71, and then at powerhouse Delta of Stockton, 47-44, in a regional final to march right back to the state final four. The event starts Friday at Golden Eagle Arena at West Hills College in Lemoore.
Who does that? Thirteen seeds are generally fodder for the healthy heavyweights, right? Sierra College is the defending state champion with a revamped roster that has not been willing to surrender an inch to anyone.
“We’re the Lucky 13 seed, playing with house money,” longtime Wolverines coach Brandie Murrish said with a laugh. “Last year, there was pressure to win it all since we were a top-ranked team in the state, and we were supposed to be good. This group? No pressure. We’re the underdog, and this team believed that they could do this. We have amazing team chemistry and they play so hard.”
Back to those practices. Sierra College’s tradition has been so strong over the decades that scores of former Wolverines players regularly attend games and practices. The program sticks with them. Former players have been the unsung heroes this season.
“Oh, the former players are very skilled, really good, and they’ve prepared us,” said Sierra sophomore guard Christiane Carlisle, a Colfax High graduate. “We see those women come into practice and we know we’re in for a battle. They’re super game.”
So, too, are the Wolverines. A year after going 28-3 and topping Big 8 Conference rival Delta for the state championship, Sierra College at 20-11 heads to the state tournament as the No. 4-seeded team from the North. The Wolverines on Friday afternoon will play state No. 1-ranked Orange Coast of Costa Mesa, which is 29-1. All state games are streamed on baosn.tv.
The Wolverines are not awed by any opponent. Not after what they’ve gone through, including watching freshman guard Juliana Chavez go down in a playoff game in Fresno with a knee injury. She was averaging 10 points per game. Carlisle averages 15.4 points, Alyssa Premo 16.1 and Julianne Cotterill 14.6, giving the Wolverines a potent 1-2-3 punch. Premo, a 5-foot-7 freshman guard/forward, averages 8.7 rebounds, Cotterill 10.6 and Sara Reuter, a 5-10 forward, pulls down 8.1 boards per game.
“I remember her going down and we were all shocked,” Carlisle said of Chavez. “At halftime, she hyped us up and told us we could do this without her. It got pretty emotional. We’re doing this for her and for us.”
It’s that sort of team bond that continues to inspire Murrish, in her 16th season as head coach. She is a JC product, having played at Butte College in Oroville. She took over for a JC coaching giant in Roz Goldenberg and has become a coaching giant herself.
Murrish downplays any such notion, per her humble nature, but she did take her first Sierra College team to the state finals in 2006 and guided the Wolverines to their second state championship last season. Goldenberg led them to their first in 1999.
With 378 victories, Murrish is the winningest coach in program history.
“I’m having so much fun and I’m so thankful to be here,” she said. “All the resources we have, the people here, the student-athletes — it’s a blast. I feel so blessed to have been able to take over for someone like Roz, who had such a high standard for women’s basketball. She’s been so supportive.”
The coach added that challenges are what make seasons so unique.
“We reloaded the whole roster,” Murrish said. “One player returned. We’ve adjusted, found a way, and here we are.”
Rise in hoops with Title IX
Those spirited practice scrimmages came in an old gym that will be replaced in the coming months by a sparkling $50 million facility on campus.
Sierra College’s gym opened in 1961. The first women’s team on campus was 50 years ago, which also marks the year when Title IX — the law that mandates gender equity — came into play. This is an anniversary season for the program, headed by a coach in Murrish who advocates for women’s athletics. Sports were a driving force in her getting advanced degrees, of landing this job that she calls a dream gig. She regularly encourages players over the years to strive for greatness.
Murrish has long been inspired by her mother, Karen Murrish, a Chico native who was a teacher for 42 years and retired at 72. Karen and Murrish’s father, Mike, are regulars at Sierra College games, and mom can hardly believe what she sees.
When Karen Murrish played high school girls basketball in the mid 1960s in Chico’s Girls Athletic Association, players were allowed only three dribbles as to not exert themselves. Murrish laughs at that. Never underestimate the drive of female athletes, right?
Times have certainly changed. Girls and women’s basketball players can play, and Sierra College has sent dozens of players onto the four-year college ranks via athletic scholarship.
“We’ve come a long way, and the game is still growing,” said Carlisle, the Wolverines sophomore guard. “We definitely all have skills, and the respect is there more and more from fans supporting the game. I think it’s great.”
Support system
Sierra College games, home and away, have included a throng of Wolverines backers, including former players. The football team watches the women play, too.
Carlisle may well be on her way to becoming a teacher and coach, inspired by her parents and by Murrish. Carlisle has helped run and coach basketball clinics at Colfax High and Sierra College. She’s already hooked.
“It’s definitely something that interests me,” she said. “I just love the game, and going to school here has added to that.”
Murrish said support is the foundation for any successful operation, be it sports or the real world. She points to her mother as an example.
“Most supportive, positive person you’ll ever meet,” Murrish said. “She always told me I could be or do anything in life that I wanted as long as I was willing to work hard for it. Hard work pays off.”
Carlisle agrees. Work ethic has defined this team. This also happens to be the week that celebrated International Women’s Day.
“It’s been a wild ride this season,” she said. “Sometimes we laugh about it. We had people leave the team, injuries, a tough schedule. But we knew we could do this and get back to the state final four if we worked hard. It was our goal, and we’re super excited at the opportunity.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 5:00 AM.