BUTTE VALLEY >> The Butte College women’s basketball entered its first game of the California Community College NorCal Regional Tournament on Saturday as the No. 1 seed, earning a first-round bye. The Roadrunners won a third straight Golden Valley Conference title in 2023 and are looking to make their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance.

Saturday night, Butte College defeated No. 16 Merced College 96-54 in the second round of the tournament. The Roadrunners (25-3) will now face No. 8 Folsom Lake (23-6) in the NorCal Regional Final on Saturday at Butte College. The time is still to be determined.

“I think it was our week of preparation at practice that made us play the way we did tonight,” said Butte point guard Cassidy King, who finished with four points and a team-high eight assists. “Merced’s a great basketball team. It may not look that way on the scorebook, but they’re a talented basketball team, and we came in knowing they could take that away from us, and we took it very seriously because they are a good team.”Roadrunners Coach Tyler Newton praised his team after the game, echoing King’s statement about the importance of a strong week of practice. He said the first-round bye forced players to break some rust off, having not played in 10 days since their regular season finale Feb. 15.

In front of a packed home crowd that featured the Butte College baseball team cheering on their fellow student athletes, the Roadrunners and Blue Devils exchanged leads five times in the first quarter. Butte trailed 8-5 early, but a 12-0 run gave the Roadrunners a 17-8 lead.

The lead was extended to 24-11 at the end of the first quarter, and with 1 minute and 20 seconds remaining until halftime Meghan Weinrich and Sarah Tait made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Butte a 47-25 lead.

Weinrich, who was recently named the GVC and NorCal Player of the Year, entered halftime with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Weinrich finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and five assists despite sitting out the final five minutes of the game.

“I think when you have the MVP on your team and you hit the floor, you have a chance to win every night, so when big moments are there she steps up,” Newton said.

Both King and Tait shared their thoughts about having the GVC Player of the Year as a teammate. Tait said she loves how much of an unselfish player Weinrich is. Tait added that when Weinrich scores a momentum-changing point, it pushes the momentum onto the rest of the team, which she felt in the first half.

Tait finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, Jordan Arreola had 18 points, Madalynn Bassett had 11 points, and Sanaya Shrader had nine points and six rebounds.

King, one of the closest players with Weinrich on and off the court, said, “it’s always great to have her to be able to hop into her little backpack and keep going.”

“If things aren’t going good I know she’s going to put her head down and work,” King said.

By the end of the third quarter Butte had extended its lead to 76-41, giving Newton time to give his starters rest.

The Roadrunners defeated next opponent Folsom Lake 71-62 Dec. 8 in Folsom in the two teams’ lone regular-season matchup. King said the regional final will come down to two things the Roadrunners have focused on all season — scouting and defense.

“We’ve got to have a good week of practice to prepare like we did this last week,” Newton said. “I think if we come in and we lock in and have a good game plan and perform we can get the job done.”

Butte men

The Butte College men’s basketball team’s season came to an end in the second round of the CCCAA NorCal Regional Tournament on Saturday in San Francisco.

The No. 17 Roadrunners lost 99-69 to the No. 1 seed, City College of San Francisco.

Ozzy Meadows led Butte with 16 points, Rolontae Knowles had 15 points, Isaac Wood had 10 points, and Anthony Montoya had seven assists.

The Butte College men’s basketball team finished its season 15-14.