Ivy Gonzalez is the sharpshooting guard leading the Santa Rosa Junior College women’s basketball team, but there’s more to her unfazed demeanor than we see on the court.
Stamping her mark on the Big 8 Conference this season, Gonzalez leads the conference in scoring with 22.1 points per game, placing her at sixth for all of CCCAA. Gonzalez also netted the Big 8 Conference’s “Player of the Week” award for her dazzling performances against Sac City and Modesto, on Jan. 14 and 17, where she averaged 24.5 points and six rebounds per game.
“As a captain she is responsible for holding the standard and helping the team achieve success,” said head coach Lacey Campbell. “Her work ethic and dedication to improving and the drive to win is important to a young team. Ivy is a gym rat that is always looking to get better or fix the little things. She puts in a lot of work on her own.”
Hailing from South Lake Tahoe and graduating from South Tahoe High School, Gonzalez was always interested in sports from a young age.
Growing up, there weren’t many gyms where Gonzalez could play basketball, so as a substitute, she attended a pre-school that’s connected to a rec center. “Since it’s right there, I’d always go and shoot hoops since I was really young. My mom would take me to go play basketball,” Gonzalez said.
In her personal life, Gonzalez tries to stay away from basketball, opting instead to play video games or hang out with her girlfriend. Back home, she has two cats who she loves dearly.
“By straying away from basketball in my free time, it gives my brain and body the chance to relax and recharge by focusing on something else,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve found this helpful because when it comes to practices and the games, I can be 100% focused since I don’t feel like I’m overloading and burning myself out.”
Going into high school, Gonzalez played soccer, baseball and basketball, and swam, but stated basketball was the sport she was “always better at.” She recounted how her mother always supported her as she played basketball in her youth. She dropped swimming and soccer in her sophomore year after playing both in addition to basketball in her freshman year of high school.
“As long as I can remember, [my dream] has been to play professionally,” she said.
Gonzalez’s big dreams were put on hold when she tore her ACL during an AAU tournament in Los Angeles going into her senior year of high school.
“I went to take a step back jumper and my knee caved in and I felt a pop like I never had before,” Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately, later that game when I went to intercept a pass and I landed on that same knee and it completely gave out as I fell to the floor. It was only like two weeks later that I found out I tore my ACL.”
Coming back from an ACL injury can be physically strenuous, and the mental aspect proved to be no different.
Gonzalez managed to recover from her injury in five months, compared to the usual 12 months. She managed to return to action during her senior year.
“There’s easily nothing worse than the first week after surgery just because the pain is essentially unbearable, and you’re just left hoping the pain meds will work in time,” Gonzalez said.
During her road to recovery, Gonzalez faced a massive uphill battle not only physically, but mentally.
“The basic moves were fine,” she said. “I just kept thinking, ‘How am I supposed to do the step move or the step through?’ and all that stuff. I think what helped me the most was repetition and knowing I have a new knee because it’s not the old one. It’s not gonna get injured when I’m doing certain stuff.”
The aftermath of her injury took a great deal of recovery time, as she said she didn’t fully feel back to normal in her strength, stability and mobility until this year — which marks three years since her ACL surgery in August 2022.
Now completely healed, Gonzalez has hit the ground running. Performing at a top level, she’s received several D2 looks. “My plan after the JC is to transfer to a four-year [university],” she said. “I’ve seen the D1 girls play and been around people who have gone D1, and the level doesn’t seem far off.”
Campbell also has high hopes for Gonzalez’s future in basketball.
“Ivy has the chance to do something special with basketball. She pushes her limits and challenges herself, which is what is needed to achieve those goals,” Coach Campbell said. “How far can she go? I can’t say, but I know she will give herself the best chances to go as far as she can.”
Gonzalez is efficient on the court and leads by example. She started the season off strongly, netting 22 points in the conference opener against Diablo Valley College and then scoring another 21 against Folsom Lake, which is currently the second-ranked team in Northern California. Additionally, Gonzalez delivered an impressive double-double against San Mateo, with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Alongside her, freshman forward Kaia Eubanks is climbing the scoring charts, ranking ninth in scoring in the Big 8 Conference. “Ivy plays a big role on our team, especially on the offensive end. We often rely on her to make tough shots,” Eubanks said. “Her ability to finish around the rim and from the 3-point line really helps our team gain energy and confidence. It gives us momentum throughout the game.”
Fellow captain Cece Solano has a similarly high opinion of Gonzalez.
“Playing with Ivy for me is always fun — we have a good connection and trust in each other to make the right pass or take the right shot, she brings the work ethic we all push to have.” Said Solano, “She is the reason I pushed to get better, along with her silly side that makes her so easy to approach, for example, when we do weights and we have music playing she likes to show the team her dance moves in between sets.”
As a collective, the Bear Cubs look forward to finishing conference play strongly and are setting their sights on playoffs. “We all want to win, but I think it is difficult when you have those new players because they don’t realize how important each game is,” Gonzalez said.
Currently, the Bear Cubs sit sixth in the Big 8 Conference, with a 6-9 record after a five-game losing streak late in the season.
“Each day we work on achieving the next challenge, which is our next game,” Campbell said. “Our goal as of today is to finish the highest possible in conference.”
Gonzalez and the rest of the team are looking to finish the season with a strong win, with sophomore night on the horizon against American River on Friday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m.
