Grizzly girls go undefeated at West Valley Tournament
The Lassen High School Lady Grizz varsity basketball team is started 2018 off with quite the statement: They are not a group of girls to brush off.
Lassen traveled to the West Valley Holiday Classic Tournament from Thursday, Jan. 4 to Saturday, Jan. 6. After seeing the girls brutally slay on the court, fans were not surprised when the Grizzlies earned the championship title.
The first team to fall victim to Grizzly claws was the Red Bluff Spartans. Lassen showed no mercy and ultimately opened the tournament with a 53-45 win.
The Lady Grizzlies scored in the double-digits throughout the game and thus expressed their dominance from the start.
In quarter one, Lassen outscored the Spartans 15-9, which was a brilliant foundation of which to jump into the second quarter.
The Spartans picked it up slightly in the second quarter and managed to tie with Lassen regarding point-gain.
The second half began with a score of 31-25, Lassen, but by the end of the third quarter, Lassen had raised their lead by another two points.
Another 10 points gained by each side in the final quarter brought the Grizzlies to their final winning score of 53-45.
Ellie Stewart led the varsity girls against Red Bluff with a total of 16 points brought in and 13 rebounds. Maddie Hampton was close behind with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ava Steele brought in nine points and Dani Nevis earned eight.
Next to take on the Grizzlies were the Shasta Wolves Friday, Jan. 5.
Another brutal slaughter delivered by Lassen High Grizzlies resulted in a 50-45 purple and gold win, as well as a slot in the championship game.
Initially, Lassen didn’t show as much fire as seen in the previous game. With only four points gained in the first quarter, the Grizzlies started off on the wrong foot and ended up on the losing side of a 9-4 score.
However, seeing a point gap not in their favor was a great source of motivation for Lassen. In quarter two, the Grizzly girls gained on the Wolves and ultimately ended the half with a score of 22-19, Shasta.
Though the first half was over, the fight was just beginning. Lassen surpassed the Wolves by the end of the third quarter with a score of 37-35.
Then, as a cherry on top, Lassen secured the victory with another 13 points added to their score in the final quarter.
The score of 50-45 granted Lassen the victory.
Hampton was credited with 17 points and four rebounds. Stewart earned 12 points and had eight rebounds. Dani Nevis earned nine points with four rebounds as well.
With a 2-0 record for the tournament thus far, the Lady Grizz team eagerly stepped on the court to take on the hosting team, the West Valley Eagles, for the championship game.
Lassen had their game faces on from the start and easily ended quarter one up by five points. However, the quarter that truly blew fans away was the second as Lassen gained 21 points in comparison to the two gained by West Valley.
With a 34-10 score illuminating the court by the halftime break, the Eagles were visibly showing signs of unrest.
In quarter three, the Eagles picked it up a pinch and outscored Lassen by 11 points. Though the gain would be a dramatic game changer in any other circumstance, the Lassen ladies had established such a strong foundation that the impact made by the Eagles was hardly more than a dent.
Quarter four was another success for West Valley as the Lady Eagles brought in 11 points in comparison to Lassen’s 10, but it still wasn’t enough to steal the lead.
The final score of the championship game was 49-37, Lassen High.
Hampton again topped the charts with 15 points to her credit as well as six rebounds. Stewart finished the game with 13 points on the board and 14 rebounds. Dani Nevis brought in 10 points. Jamie Larson had nine rebounds.
Hampton earned the West Valley Tournament MVP award and Stewart, Dani Nevis and Lainey Neis were all named to the All-Tourney Team.
The next game for Lassen High was held at Orland High School Wednesday, Jan. 10.
The Grizzlies again started the game on fire and continued to play with a high caliber until the end. The final score was 57-41, Lassen High.
terrible picture when the top row all the girls heads are cut off
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