Three stars are foundation of team

With the season already tipped off, the women’s basketball team has gotten off to a good start, with six wins and only three losses.
 

To become a good basketball team, most teams have their “big three.”
 

For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest; the San Antonio Spurs have Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker, and the Boston Celtics have Kevin Garnet, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
 

Citrus College’s women’s basketball team has Brianna Barfield, Kristyn Jacobs, and Bianca Nuñez.
 

Brianna Barfield
Brianna Barfield is a five-foot eight-inch 18-year-old guard from Lakewood, California.
She was born into a family of athletes, her father, Ellis Barfield is a basketball coach for Lynwood High School.
 

Barfield said that she has been playing basketball “Since I was born.”
 

“My dad is a coach, so I’ve been playing for a long time,” she said.
 

She also enjoys other sports. “I like to play tennis and I like to swim, but I don’t do them at school, they’re just hobbies,” she said.
 

At Lynwood High School, Barfield played on the basketball team all four years, under her father, Coach Ellis Barfield. She also ran track and field at Lynwood.
 

At the conclusion of her senior year at Lynwood, Barfield received the Team MVP award as well as all tournament honors.
 

About transitioning from playing basketball under her father’s direction to playing basketball under Citrus College’s Coach Eric Anderson, Barfield said, “It’s a new thing for me. It’s a new experience. ” “I was so used to my dad coaching, hollering at me and getting at me all the time,” Barfield said. “But the coaches here are calmer. They’re more patient with us.”
 

Barfield leads the Citrus team in points per game (18.3), assists per game (4.0), and rebounds per game (9.8) in both offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds.
 

Basketball has helped her grow as a person, Barfield said.
 

“Basketball has taught me to be more open. It also taught me how to help other people out, to be able to work with other people, and to help myself and let other people help me as well.”
 

“It’s my love and my life,” she said.
 

Kristyn Jacobs
Citrus College sophomore Kristyn Jacobs is the returning captain of the women’s basketball team.
 

She started playing basketball at the age of 4.
 

“My brother was playing sports, and I didn’t want to play with dolls and stuff like that,” Jacobs said. “I wanted to be like my brother and be in competition with him.”
 

As she was growing up, Jacobs went back in forth playing basketball and then soccer.
 

She eventually returned to playing basketball her favorite sport.
 

She played varsity basketball for two years at Monrovia High School.
 

During her junior and senior year at Monrovia, she earned first team All Rio-Hondo League honors.
 

As a senior, she was named All-Team MVP, as well as Arroyo Tournament MVP.
 

Being a returning Citrus College basketball player has afforded Jacobs to see how the team has grown.
 

“They’ve [coaching staff] grown along with us,” Jacobs said. “They adjusted their player personnel, which player they can get in and get on and which players they can’t because they might be sensitive. They work with us very well. They’re very patient, and they teach us a lot of things.”
 

Jacobs started 30 out of 31 games last year while averaging 29 minutes, eight points, 43 percent shooting, four assists, and four rebounds per game.
 

She is currently averaging 10.8 points shooting 36 percent, with a 50 percent 3-point average. She’s also second in assists behind Brianna Barfield, averaging 3.7 per game.
 

 As far as being the captain of the women’s basketball team, “It feels good,” Jacobs said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s going to test my character, and I’m up for the challenge.”
 

Bianca Nuñez
Citrus College sophomore Bianca Nuñez is a 5-foot-4-inches guard, who graduated from West Covina High School.
 

Nuñez, 20, is studying criminal justice.
 

In high school, she got many awards for basketball, such as team's Defensive Player of the Year, team MVP, and West Covina High School's Athlete of the Year.
 

Nuñez also received All-tournament honors in the Barstow Holiday Inn Tournament along with her teammates Brianna Barfield and Kristyn Jacobs.
 

Nuñez, who has been playing basketball since she was 4-years- old, is good at all kinds of sports. Her mother encouraged her to play, she said, and still comes to her games to support her.
 

Nuñez leads the team in minutes played per game (29.8) along with Barfield Brianna and Robinson Paige. She averages 13.5 points per games and has rebounds on this season. Nuñez ha a .444 field goal percentage, and .548 free throw percentage. She is very skilled player.  
 

Though the basketball season started recently, Nuñez has her eye on the championship.
She takes practices very seriously, hoping to improve on her scoring and on team corporation.                                                                                                                                                                  
Her goal is to get champion in this term cooperating with her mates.