Golden Eagles basketball: talented ladies on the court and in the classroom

Coach Andrea Picchi held court Wednesday night before a small crowed of fans and family members as the Lady Golden Eagles stepped up to accept a multitude of awards and honors, including a plethora of academic awards that led the state.

The Golden Eagles won its first ever tournament this year and advanced to the second round of the state community college playoffs before being bumped out by a talented College of the Sequoias squad.

One of the biggest surprises of the post season was not that talented freshman guard Samantha Earl earned a spot on the state’s First Team, but that the Golden Eagles placed three players on the All-Academic squad. Standouts Jordan Lassiter, Jayla English and Kalia Parker, all of whom, in addition to playing high-caliber basketball, managed to carry 4.0 grade point averages throughout the season. Only 15 players statewide earned spots on the team.

Parker, English and Earl also earned first-team honors for the Central Valley Conference. A tearful Coach Picchi lamented the loss of sophomores English and Parker, boasting that the duo started every game in their two-year career.

Parker and English also were presented with the team’s prestigious Golden Eagle award. “These two started every game for the last two years,” said Picchi. “That’s over 60 games.”

The trio weren’t the only all-stars. Kim Alfors earned a spot on the CVC second team.

Earl, from Clovis, was named as one of the top-10 freshmen in the state in community college basketball and was the team’s top offensive player. Picchi honored former Lemoore High standouts Kody Steen and Miesha Loftin with awards. Kody got the coach’s award.

In an emotional moment, Picchi announced a name change to the team’s Heart and Soul award, naming it after longtime supporter Nick Ivans, who passed away recently. On hand to help present the award was his wife, Edna, a longtime West Hills College board member. The award went to Alfors.