Triple-Double By Anderson Leads MiraCosta To Title Game

VISALIA -- All-State point guard Anayla Anderson put on a clinic in recording a triple-double in points, rebounds, and assists as South No. 3 seed MiraCosta College defeated North No. 4 Fresno City, 66-54, to reach the title game in the second 3C2A State Women's Basketball semifinal on Saturday afternoon.

The contest was played before a packed Dr. S. Thomas Porter Field House crowd of 1,100-plus fans at College of the Sequoias.

MiraCosta (31-1) reaches the championship game on Sunday v. North No. 1 San Joaquin Delta. Tip-off is 1 p.m.. Fresno (24-8) finishes tied with Laney for third place at state

Anderson scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists while also leading a MiraCosta defense with six of its 22 steals. The Spartans forced FCC into 31 turnovers, 23 that led to points. 

"I just wanted as a leader to see our team be able to reach the Elite Eight," said Anderson, who transferred to MiraCosta from Grossmont after the Griffins head coach Westly Perryman took over the program before the start of the 2025-26 season. 

"Fresno is a really good team, and we had to deal with some adversity. But we pride ourselves on our defense and it's been why we've made it this far. We got yelled at a little at halftime, then we responded well and picked up our play in the second half."

Fresno did force MiraCosta into 27 turnovers, including 18 steals. 

In the first quarter, two lead changes and four ties were capped on Fresno's Alyssa Kem's layup at the buzzer, knotting it at 19-19. 

The second quarter saw more tight play and Fresno limited the state's third-highest scoring team (82.8 points a game) to just eight points, but MiraCosta took a 27-26 lead into halftime on Anderson's free throw. The quarter featured a 6-minute scoreless stretch before the Rams' Birdie McDonald made a jumper that tied it at 24-24.

The Spartans got their offense going in the third period as Anderson twice swiped steals and baskets to up it to 40-31 midway through the period. Anderson scored the first six points of the quarter and finished the 10 minutes with 12 points, hitting a shot off the glass for a 48-38 MiraCosta lead.

In the fourth period, MCC upped the lead to 15 before Fresno cut it back to eight on a steal and basket by Destiny Edwards. A put-back by Kiya Waters extended things for the Spartans at 62-51 with 1:42, putting the win on ice.

Besides Anderson's heroic performance, Melia Hinojos dropped in four 3-pointers as part of her 14 points and Waters added 11. 

For Fresno, the All-State Kem scored 15 points and Sara Shein, who scored her season high of 24 points in the team's upset quarterfinals victory over Mt. San Antonio, contributed 13 and four steals. 

The Rams are the first team since Sequoias in 2022 to advance as a fourth seed to the semifinals in 2022. 

"It was a season of a lot of great memories," said FCC head coach Alex Fletcher. "Obviously we wish we could have advanced to the championship game, but overall I am so proud of this team."

Community College sports historian John Czimbal, a retired former sports information director, pointed out that the matchup between Fresno and MiraCosta was a rematch of the very first state tournament quarterfinal played in 1978 at Saddleback College. The Spartans won that game, 90-79, and later lost to College of San Mateo in the semifinals.