Lady Grizzly basketball felled twice, win one at tourney
The Lassen High School Lady Grizzlies basketball team traveled to Cottonwood, California Thursday, Jan. 2 for the West Valley basketball tournament following their holiday break.
The Lady Grizzlies first faced off against Shasta High School, where the Lassen Ladies kept it close but ultimately fell 48-42.
The next day Friday, Jan. 3 they faced off against Central Valley where the Lady Grizzlies won 59-44, their solo win at the tournament. Lastly, they faced Chico High where again the Lady Grizzlies were able to keep the game close but unfortunately took a 63-56 loss.
Shasta
The Lady Grizzlies’ first quarter against the Lady Wolves from Shasta High started rough to say the least. The Lady Wolves’ offense took a strong lead early on putting away seven points early.
Lady Grizzly Caitlyn Crosby was the first to respond on the Lassen side with a two-point basket. Then in the final minutes of the quarter, Hannah Langenhorst managed two more from the free throw.
The first quarter ended with the Lady Grizzlies trailing 12-4 behind the Lady Wolves. The Lady Grizzlies’ second quarter improved but wouldn’t provide the boost needed to take the lead.
Crosby led the charge in the second quarter landing four points of the eight points made by the Lady Grizzlies. but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome Shasta’s 13 point quarter, putting the Lady Grizzlies 25-12 behind Shasta.
After the half the Lady Grizzlies came back with a big adjustment to their offense, with Crosby and Langenhorst taking the Lady Grizzlies to a 12 point third quarter over Shasta’s seven points.
The final quarter was a battle between the two teams, with multiple fouls on both sides leading to a plethora of points for both from the free throw line. Although the Lady Grizzlies again outscored the Lady Wolves in the last quarter, Shasta’s Ladies were able to squeeze out a 48-42 win over the Lady Grizzlies.
Crosby led the Lady Grizzlies’ attack with 18 points at the end as teammate Langenhorst followed scoring 10 points, and both recorded 13 rebounds.
Central Valley
In the Lady Grizzlies’ second game Friday, Jan. 3, they faced off against season regulars, the Central Valley Lady Falcons.
From tip-off in the first quarter, the Lady Grizzlies established their dominance as the whole team made a huge effort to push the score. Hailey Mena shined with two well shot three pointers which ultimately led the Lady Grizzlies to lead 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter the Lady Grizzlies maintained the pressure, and did not allow the Lady Falcons many opportunities for scoring. The bulwark put up by the Lady Grizzlies helped lead their attack to finish a strong 15-7 second quarter over the Lady Falcons.
The third quarter saw a more determined Lady Falcons come out as they looked to work around the Lady Grizzlies’ offense, but Lady Grizzlies Chelsea Williams and Langenhorst kept the pressure up pushing the Lady Grizzlies to an 18 point quarter. This put the Lady Grizzlies at 49-32 over the Lady Falcons.
The final quarter continued the Lady Grizzlies’ offensive dominance; however, the Lady Falcons looked to make a comeback in the final quarter.
While Crosby and Katie Parady were each able to put away four points for the Grizzlies, the Lady Falcons managed to work around the Lady Grizzlies’ defensive wall to outshoot them 12-10 in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough for them to overtake the lead, and the Falcons fell 59-44 to the Lady Grizzlies.
Chico
Saturday, Jan. 4 the Lady Grizzlies finished the West Valley Tournament against rival team, the Chico Lady Panthers.
Crosby started things off for the Lady Grizzlies, getting an early basket in the first seconds of the game. But Chico did not sit idly by responding with one of their own. The back and forth, basket-for-basket game kept through the first quarter ending in 13-13 before heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter started successfully for the Lady Grizzlies who took an early lead as Ronnie Merrill kept the offensive pressure against the Lady Panthers. But the Lady Panthers came back stronger in the latter half of the quarter, scoring 25 points over the Lady Grizzlies’ 14 points, putting Chico ahead 38-27 going into the half.
As the third quarter got underway, the Lady Panthers kept the defensive pressure on, but the Lady Grizzlies adjusted well enough to keep the score close.
Things flipped in the fourth quarter. The Lady Grizzlies came in with a strong team effort. Merrill, Langenhorst, Williams, Mena and Struthers pushed the Lady Grizzlies to a 18-10 final quarter, totaling a final score of 63-56, falling just short of the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Grizzlies hit the court at home against Yreka Friday, Jan. 2; results were unavailable at press time. Look for the results in the Tuesday, Jan. 21 issue of the Lassen County Times.
