Lady Cougars clobber Roadrunners at home
The Lady Cougar basketball team mercilessly thwarted the Butte Roadrunners at home Saturday, Jan. 27. With a final score of 80-37, Lassen, Wile E. Coyote certainly started taking notes.
After sending the Roadrunners packing, Lassen traveled to Shasta College to challenge the Knights. Again, the Lady Cougars won, but their second victory was less dramatic with 59-49 on the board.
While at home, the Lady Cougars mauled and mangled the Roadrunners beyond recognition.
The game began with signs of struggle on the court as the Roadrunners won the tip-off, but failed to utilize the advantage to score.
The first points of the game were awarded to Lassen after a layup was delivered by Shayla Carrier at 9:04.
Butte responded with a three-pointer soon afterward. The 3-2 Roadrunner score was literally the only taste Butte had of the win.
Jocelyn Gandara hit a two-point field goal and a layup before the start of the game’s fourth minute.
Hannah Carson followed with a basket with 6 minutes and 20 seconds remaining of the quarter. Then, Gandara returned to the spotlight with a basket after catching a quick pass from Gracie McCoy.
As the Roadrunners attempted to recover from Gandara’s latest basket, the Lady Cougar in question couldn’t resist intercepting a Butte pass and hitting another layup to bring the score to 12-3, Lassen.
Butte tried their hand at the sport once more with a basket and a couple good free throws between 5:25 and 4:55, but the Roadrunner efforts ceased afterward.
In the final 5 minutes of the game, Maddie Camacho sank two three-pointers and a free throw, Gandara scored two baskets and Brynn Winters hit a rebound.
Then, with less than a full second remaining of the quarter, Gandara decided to quickly steal the ball and hit a layup out of sheer spite.
The second quarter started with 26-7 on the board favoring the home orange and black.
Butte hit a couple free throws to start the quarter, likely out of fear it would be their only contribution, but the efforts still didn’t grant the visiting Roadrunners a double-digit score on the board.
Desiree Bounds was the first Cougar to score for the quarter with a two-point field goal at 8:55.
Winters followed with a couple good free throws to bring the quarter into its third minute.
Butte then, after a couple minutes of scoreless action, hit their first two-point field goal of the quarter to bring their point tally to 11.
Considering themselves back in the game, Butte then hit a couple good free throws at 5:15.
Gandara responded with a rebound 20 seconds later.
The Cougars then reached 35 points with a hook shot from McCoy and effectively angered the Roadrunners.
Butte utilized the fury within to hit a three-pointer at 2:30. Though it was a grand moment of success for the visiting team, the celebrations didn’t last long.
With 1:40 on the board, Gandara hit a three-pointer of her own to bring the Cougars within reach of 40 points, and with a layup in the last three seconds of the half, Camacho got them there.
The 40-16 Cougar score was only a warm up for the orange and black ladies.
McCoy started the second half with a layup, and after a couple free throws and a three-pointer, Carrier delivered a layup as well.
Carrier then hit another two-point field goal at 6:55 and was followed by baskets from Gandara and McCoy before the clock hit six minutes.
With 5:46 on the clock, Carson hit a layup after McCoy stole the ball mid-dribble, and with 5:02 remaining of the quarter, Gandara scored yet another basket.
Savanna Miller brought in five points for the Lady Cougars with a three pointer and a two-point field goal during the quarter’s seventh minute.
Butte then reached 23 points with a basket at 2:14.
Before the quarter was over, Lassen continued to score with Carrier hitting a layup and a free throw and Jenae Larson scoring a three-pointer.
Even with a 42-point lead, the Cougars still weren’t finished playing with their prey.
Quarter four started with a three-pointer from Gandara and one from Unique Smith.
Butte responded with a layup at 7:30, but the attempt was hardly worth noting.
Gandara then hit a hook shot at 7:11 and Bounds was quick to follow with a three-pointer.Luckily for the Roadrunners, though, the Cougars were ready to turn off the heat after reaching 76 points.
The final five minutes of the game consisted of three good free throws, two baskets and one three-pointer from Butte. The Lassen ladies scored another four points, but were more than willing to call it a day.
The final score of 80-37, Lassen, may seem like overkill, but fans certainly enjoyed watching their favorite carnivores devour their meal.
Lassen then traveled to Shasta to take on the Knights Jan. 31.
The Cougars saw a bit more of a fight from Shasta than that from Butte, but the game was still ultimately a Cougar win.
The first quarter ended with Lassen in the lead 15-13, and by the halftime break, the score had reached 35-26, Lassen.
Lassen played equally as strong in the second half as the third quarter brought in 15 points for the Cougars and the fourth brought in nine.
The final score of 59-49 left the Lady Cougars satisfied with their success, but still hungry for more.
Leading the team against Shasta was Camacho with a total of 18 points. Camacho also had five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Carson brought in 16 points for the Lady Cougars with eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Carrier scored 11 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
