Dropped programs in Bay Valley Conference hurt chances

For the first time in seven years, the Laney College women’s basketball team was not selected to participate in the Northern California Regional.
The Eagles finished the season with a 15–10 record and lost 71–63 at home to Bay Valley Conference champion Contra Costa College on Feb. 19. If Laney had won that game, it would have been BVC champion and automatically qualified for NorCal.
The big hindrance was the fact that six BVC games were eliminated when Los Medanos, Merritt and Napa Valley dropped their programs due to eligibility problems. 
“Maybe we go 21–10 and get in,” Laney head coach Ron Williams said. “We also had to cancel three games in a competitive tournament (Mt. SAC Tip-Off Classic) due to injuries. I always schedule us in this tournament to help our power rankings.”
The Eagles managed to enter another tournament when Napa Valley dropped out, but it did not carry the prestige of the Mt. SAC.
Contra Costa was the only team selected for NorCal. The Comets, seeded 13th, lost at Diablo Valley College 82–80 in overtime in the first round.
Laney did get some good news. Four players — Kimberley Powell, Maddie Mills, Jamika Wilson and Rose Marcelino — made the All-BVC team. Wilson, who had a monster season, fell two votes short of being named BVC Player of the Year.
Contra Costa sophomore Julian Robinson was the BVC MVP.
The Eagles knew going into the Contra Costa game that beating the Comets meant winning the title, but it also would mean defeating them for the first time this season.
Laney had lost to CCC 82–79 in the semifinals of the Comet Classic in December and had blown a lead in an 85–71 loss in San Pablo in February.
 But on Feb. 19 in the last game, the Eagles only led for a short while before Contra Costa’s superior athleticism and shooting ability gradually overwhelmed the home team.
Wilson and Marcelino each had 13 points while Mills had 11 and Brewer 10. Laney shot just 1-for-17 in three-point attempts.