The Sierra College Wolverines have been to the state championships three seasons in a row, winning the title in 2022.  And while the nucleus of last year's surprising team was a new crop of freshman, two knee injuries and graduation have taken key pieces from that squad.

Leading scorer Christiane Carslile graduated, Julianna Chavez suffered a knee injury after hitting four 3-pointers in Sierra's regional semifinal win over Fresno State, and rebounding /shot-block ace Sarah Reuter also suffered a knee injury just before the season started.  Both Chavez and Reuter are out for the season. 

"Losing Jules and Sarah…that hurts, but they are still with us, supporting a good crop of incoming freshman and we are excited about our chances with this new talent," said Sierra head coach Brandie Murrish.  "And we have Julianne Cotterill and Alyssa Premo back as starters from last year.

Cotterille, a versatile 6-foot guard-wing-forward, scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Fresno game and followed that up with a 13-rebound, three-blocked shots performance in the Nor Cal finals win against Delta. Premo poured in 24 points and pulled down 11 boards in that game, propelling the Wolverines to their third straight appearance at the state finals tournament.

Murrish has added some height to the front line with post player Katie Leeth, a 6-2 Freshman from Lincoln high school, where she averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Mikayla Bumgarner, a 5-11 Freshman from Core Butte Charter is another promising forward who can score and rebound. 

The Wolverines have added both depth and talent at the guard position with Leaundra Walker-Brown, Soleil Cariaga, Cristelle Williams, Kiera Catubig-Hess, Amara Jackson and Beau Von Seipler. This group can push the ball, score and defend, perfect for Murrish's up-tempo style.

"We have a good nucleus of leadership and great new players who like to compete," Murrish said. "Our goal is always to win our conference and be competitive in the post season, and we expect this year's team to come together nicely to meet those goals. We're looking forward to another great season!"

With the construction of Sierra's new state of-the-art gym, the Wolverines women's and men's teams are playing at William Jessup University in west Rocklin.  Games are scheduled for Warrior Arena and the Activities Building.