Sutter senior Presley Peyret (2) drives the ball into the lane on Saturday, Dec. 20 during the Huskies’ defeat to Placer. Photo by Steven Bryla

SUTTER, CA (YSBC) - Three local girls basketball squads battled it out at the Sutter Union campus from Dec. 18 through Saturday, Dec. 20 as the Huskies hosted an eight-eight bracket tournament.

The field welcomed three Northern Section schools (Gridley, Chico and Colusa) and fellow Sac-Joaquin Section combatants (Nevada Union, Placer, River Valley and Faith Christian).

Chico defeated Nevada Union 61-51 in the final.

Sutter

The young Sutter Huskies went 1-2 in the tournament and continued gaining experience game-by-game.

Sutter lost their tournament opener to Gridley by five before they rebounded next night and beat Colusa for the second time in three attempts this year.

In the Huskies final game of the tournament last Saturday, Sutter lost to a talented Placer team that has been off to a hot start in the first half of their season.

Huskies freshman Gia Rickertsen scored all 10 of her team leading points in the opening quarter. Sutter trailed 18-14 at the end of the first.

Sutter senior Presley Peyret (2) drives the ball into the lane on Saturday, Dec. 20 during the Huskies’ defeat to Placer. Photo by Steven Bryla

Placer gained a lot of momentum and took advantage of some of the Huskies’ mistakes in the second and Sutter didn’t score double digits in a quarter for the rest of the afternoon.

Placer led by 16 at the half and extended it to 21 after the third. Huskies head coach Brandee Harter told Yuba Sutter Butte Colusa Sports that they had a great tournament and have learned a lot through the first third of the season.

Sutter is scheduled to travel to Reno, Nevada and participate in the Hug high school tournament that starts on Saturday, Dec. 27.

River Valley

River Valley went 0-3 in the Sutter tournament last weekend and competed well against the Northern Section schools.

The Falcons lost their opening game of the tournament as they played Chico,who eventually won the whole tournament by 25.

River Valley was beaten by Foothill Valley League foe Placer in a significant loss by a lot of points in the second game. The Falcons battled it out with Colusa in the tournament final that went back-and-forth for the whole game.

River Valley sophomore Emma Jolly (33) lays the ball up on Saturday, Dec. 20 in the Falcons’ loss to Colusa. Photo by Steven Bryla

River Valley senior guard Rylee Bradfield battled it out with Colusa junior Peyton Miller were the only two players in the game who scored double-digits. 

Bradfield had 17 points in the loss and Miller had 19, including when she hit the game winning shot with 17 seconds remaining as she drained a three-point shot from the right side of the floor. 

The Colusa defense held off the Falcons offense for the final shot and the RedHawks secured the 37-36 victory.

Faith Christian

The defending CIF Nor Cal Division VI Champions took third place overall in the Sutter tournament as they played the hardest schedule throughout the tournament.

On December 18, they played Placer, who was ranked in the top of five of the Sac-Joaquin Section teams.

Faith Christian senior Presley Berry (21) shoots a free throw in the Lions’ victory against Gridley on Saturday, Dec. 20. Photo by Steven Bryla

Faith Christian led at the half as they were able to get plenty of transition-fast paced baskets in the first half.

The Lions held off a late charge by Placer and senior Presley Berry iced the game with a couple late free-throws for Faith’s victory.

Faith Christian lost their first game of the season on the next night against Chico that went down to the wire. Chico’s three losses came to all high-level Division 1 teams in the SJS.

The Lions ended the tournament with a controlling win over the Gridley Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 20.