Bowles commits to Simpson hoops

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CR standout: ‘This could be my future but now it is my present’

Moriah Bowles smiles with her College of the Redwoods coaches, head coach Bree Northern, left, and DJ Snowton, right, after signing her letter of intent to play basketball with Simpson University. Bowles played two years with CR after joining the team from Eureka High. PHOTOS BY DYLAN MCNEILL — TIMES-STANDARD

College of the Redwoods basketball player Moriah Bowles signs her letter of intent to play at Simpson University on Thursday. Bowles, just like her head coach Bree Northern, will play at Simpson after two seasons with the Corsairs.

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By Dylan McNeill

dmcneill@times-standard.com

After her career with College of the Redwoods basketball ended last month, former Eureka High player Moriah Bowles will continue her basketball career at the four-year level, with Simpson University next season.

Bowles isn’t the first Corsair women’s basketball player to head from CR to Simpson, with her Corsairs’ head coach, Bree Northern, making the same jump in 2020. Bowles’ journey to Simpson began a year ago, back when Northern was still an assistant coach at Simpson University.

Northern, the former Corsair, went to watch her alma mater play in a tournament at Shasta College last year, and she was accompanied by then-assistant coach Anthony Taylor. Bowles shined in the tournament, placing herself on Taylor’s radar. Taylor then got promoted to Simpson’s head coach and still remembered Bowles from her game in Shasta.

“We went and watched Redwoods play in the Shasta College Tournament and we saw Moriah shooting,” Northern recalled. “This year when I got the job, I reached out to Coach Taylor and let him know that Moriah would be interested in possibly going to Simpson. Then they communicated and the rest is history.”

Bowles had a few meetings with Simpson and realized how great of a fit the school was.

“I didn’t know he was interested in me until he got the head coaching job and Coach Bree came here,” Bowles said. “So it’s a very new thing, but I feel like it’s the place I need to go and end up.”

A lot of things aligned for Bowles and Simpson University. She had spent time living in Redding as a kid so returning there would be comfortable and the school is a Christian school, which is right up Bowles alley, as she plans to major in biblical studies. Having someone like Northern, who knows the ins and outs of the Simpson program, also helped alleviate her nervousness.

“I see God’s hands in all of it,” Bowles said, reflecting on her strong game in Shasta that initially caught the attention of Coach Taylor with Simpson. “The game before that, I was in a horrible shooting slump and I played awful. I had no idea that they were in the crowd and a year later, her (Northern) telling me that she was there. That’s crazy. I had probably my best game of the year with two of my future coaches in the crowd.”

In addition to Bowles being the first Corsair player to move onto a four-year program under Northern, it becomes extra special that she’s going to Simpson, following Northern’s own trajectory.

“This is a special one for me because she’s going to play where I played and coached at,” Northern said. “She’s going to be playing for one of my close mentors and friends. I just think it’s going to be a great fit for her and I think she’ll really enjoy her experience.”

Bowles served as a captain for CR this season and was the Corsairs’ third-leading scorer this year, averaging 10.3 points per game while hitting a team-high 57 three-pointers for the 11-17 Corsairs. Bowles shows great appreciation for her two head coaches at CR, Northern and Jain Tuey, and also the coaching staff at Eureka High for helping her grow as a player and end up at a four-year school.

“It’s always been something that I knew that I could accomplish,” Bowles said. “But actually doing it now, it feels so much better. Like this could be my future but now it is my present.”

Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.