Lady Cougars host basketball tournament
The Lassen College women’s basketball team ended 2016 with a home tournament held from Thursday, Dec. 29 to Friday, Dec. 30. During the tournament, the Lady Cougars faced Gavilan College and Cabrillo College.
The first game for the home team was against the Gavilan Rams. The girls played with spunk and drive on both sides, but the Rams ultimately left with the 67-49 win.
The game was initiated after the five starting Cougars took the court. The Lassen starters were JaNeal Coleman, Hailee Simpson, Carissa Shaffer, Tatum Uruburu and Leonna Mortimer.
The two Lassen reserves were Shaylyn Thacker and Victoria Moore.
Lassen was looking good as the game began. With quick passes and focus on the basket, the Cougars were able enter the second quarter up by five points.
Both teams were able to land a solid 13 points throughout the second quarter, so by the start of halftime, the Cougars were still up by five with a leading score of 32-27.
The second half seemed to take a toll on the Cougars, as Ram defense was stronger than before.
The third quarter was settled with the Rams ahead by one point overall as they managed 18 points throughout the quarter to challenge Lassen’s 12.
The close game sparked tension on the court and excitement amongst the fans.
The final quarter held endless possibilities for the teams; the Lady Cougars entered quarter four on the losing end of a 45-44 score.
Despite a great fight put up by Lassen, the girls only managed to advance their score by five points. On the other end of the court, the Rams were able to rake in 22 points. The game was called with a final score of 67-49 favoring Gavilan.
In the game against Gavilan, Mortimer scored 14 of Lassen’s 49 points with one of five attempted three-pointers, five of six attempted free throws and eight rebounds.
Coleman and Uruburu both scored nine points for the Cougars. Coleman made one of two attempted three-pointers and five rebounds. Uruburu made one of two free throws and three rebounds.
Regarding the game overall, the Cougars had 17 of 51 field goals made, five of 15 three-pointers made and 10 of 14 free throws made with 33 rebounds.
The next game for the Lady Cougars was on Saturday, Dec. 30 against the Cabrillo Seahawks.
Though the Cougars kept fierce throughout the match, Lassen lost the game 68-51.
The Cougars were clearly struggling as they entered the half down by 19, but the 42-23 score didn’t scare away their drive; if anything, the underdog status motivated Lassen further than before.
In the second half, Lassen actually outscored the Seahawks 28-26, but when adding the score to that of the first half, the Seahawks were in the advantage 68-51.
In the game against Cabrillo, Mortimer scored 13 points for Lassen with one of five attempted three-pointers, four of six attempted free throws and six rebounds.
Simpson made 12 points for Lassen with four rebounds.
Coleman scored 10 points for the Cougars with two of two attempted free throws and 10 rebounds.
Regarding the Cabrillo game as a whole, Lassen made 20 of 65 attempted field goals, three of 17 three-pointers and eight of 10 free throws with 35 total rebounds.
Though the tournament gave Lassen it’s third and fourth game in it’s current losing streak, it showed the hard work the Lady Cougars have put into the sport so far.
The Cougars played the first game of the league on Saturday, Jan. 7 against Shasta College. Results will be published in the Tuesday, Jan. 17 issue.
The next game for the Lady Cougars will be on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they take on Feather River at home.
