State title repeat? Maybe not this year for Clovis West girls, but a big star remains
Clovis West High sent the core of its state championship girls basketball team to Division I colleges this summer, but one huge star remained.
Naturally, junior Madison Campbell did not disappoint as the Golden Eagles opened the 2017-18 season with a blowout win Thursday in the first round of their Nike Central Valley Showdown.
Campbell, a 5-11 junior, scored 26 points as the Golden Eagles beat Garces 94-22. It was 29-9 after a quarter.
Not as much is expected of Clovis West a year after a 34-2 season that not only saw it win the CIF State Open Division title but also earn Cal-Hi Sports Team of the Year honors and finish No. 1 in the espnW power and MaxPreps national rankings.
Gone are the likes of Tess Amundsen (Boise State), Megan Anderson (San Jose State), Sarah Bates (UC Santa Barbara), Danae Marquez (San Jose State) and Bre’yanna Sanders (Arizona State).
Back is Campbell – one of the more sought-after college recruits in the state with two years to play – and, among others, junior Aari’yanna Sanders. Up and comers? How about five freshmen on the varsity?
For now, they check in at No. 19 in the Cal-Hi Sports state Top 35.
In the second round of the Showdown, the Golden Eagles will face Stockdale or Foothill. Potentially looming this weekend are No. 13 Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth, No. 26 Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills and Wisconsin power King-Milwaukee.
Also in the tournament are Tri-River Athletic Conference rivals Buchanan, Central and Clovis North as well as Bullard of the County/Metro.
Clovis West 94, Garces 22
Garces (0-1): McMutrey 1, Cooper 2, Gorman 2, Green 17.
Clovis West (1-0): Makayla Warren 3, Alexis Hernandez 5, Nikki Tom 5, Alyssa Kuniyoshi 8, Aariyanna Sanders 11, Champney Pulliam 11, Allyson Cotton 5, Madison Campbell 26, Justyce Harris 13, Miciah Lee 7.
OTHER CENTRAL VALLEY CLASSIC SCORES
Clovis North 76, Bear Creek-Stockton 58
Rufus King-Milwaukee (Wisc.) 83, Bullard 20
Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills 66, Buchanan 49
Central 91, California School for the Deaf-Fremont 10
Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth 62, Yosemite 30
Foothill 61, Stockdale 57
Valley Christian-San Jose 60, Fairfax-Los Angeles 57
Friday’s games at Clovis West
Court 1
Sierra Canyon vs. Clovis North, 4 p.m.
Foothill vs. Clovis West, 5:30 p.m.
Central vs. Rufus King, 7 p.m.
Oakridge vs. Valley Christian, 8:30 p.m.
Court 2
Buchanan vs. Fairfax, 4 p.m.
Stockdale vs. Garces, 7 p.m.
Yosemite vs. Bear Creek, 5:30 p.m.
CSD vs. Bullard, 8:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 10:42 PM with the headline "State title repeat? Maybe not this year for Clovis West girls, but a big star remains."