KENTFIELD — Former Kelseyville High School star athlete Emily Schaefer has the College of Marin women’s basketball team headed to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) playoffs.
Schaefer, now in her fourth season as the Mariners’ women’s basketball head coach, will be on the sidelines Wednesday night when College of Marin (16-10) plays Skyline College in San Bruno during a first-round game at 7 p.m.
College of Marin placed fourth this season in the highly competitive Bay Valley Conference, which includes Yuba, Solano, Los Medanos, Contra Costa, Laney, Merritt, Napa and Mendocino colleges. Just 2-26 last season, the Mariners won 14 more games during the 2022-23 regular season. They are making their first postseason appearance since 2003 when they reached the CCCAA’s Final Four.
A standout basketball player and multi-sports star at Kelseyville High School, Schaefer also was the Lake County Record-Bee’s Female Athlete of the Year during her senior year (2004-05). She played collegiate basketball at Butte College and at California State University East Bay. Schaefer was recently recognized as the Bay Valley Conference’s Coach of the Year.
Schaefer’s coaching staff includes Amanda Lassiter, a former All-Big 12 player at the University of Missouri as well as a 2001 first-round draft pick in the WNBA. Lassiter played for the Houston Comets, the Seattle Storm, the Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky during a six-year career. Errayana Hatfield is another assistant coach who was an All-Conference player at Dominican University in San Rafael. The coaching staff is rounded out by four-year veteran John Berry, a longtime coach at Mountain Vista Middle School and Kelseyville High School.
Like many teams, College of Marin’s 2021-22 squad was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21. This year’s team has bounced back behind the play of sophomore guards Jayden Davis and Victoria Claros, and forward Kayley Armsrong, as well as newcomers Isobel Crosswhite, Aulani Leomiti and Butte College transfer DaRia White. The roster is rounded out by sophomore center Kim Noriega and a quartet of freshmen guards, namely Yusiry DeLeon, Maddy Johnson, Nala Tucker, and Sam Aban.
