She wasn’t flashy. Going coast-to-coast for a lay up was a rarity. And, she was never a show boat. What Etna Lady Lion Annaleisa Nadig did do was consistently perform on the basketball court. On a league championship team that was loaded with talent, no one was better than Nadig this season.

Nadig led the Lady Lions in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg). She had the best shooting percentage on the team (47) and 3-point shooting percentage (42). Her free throw percentage was second best (67). Nadig averaged 10.5 points per game, and 2.6 steals. She had the least turnovers among the starters.

Six times in the 2009-10 season, Nadig registered a double-double for points and rebounds. Her highest scoring output was 26 points against Lost River. She also had 10 boards in that game. However, Nadig’s most impressive game came against Fall River in a must win situation for the Lady Lions. A loss meant third place. A win meant a co-championship and high playoff seed. Nadig responded to the challenge with a 16-point, 18-rebound performance.

What makes Nadig’s stats impressive is not how high they are. Many players in the Shasta Cascade League, and even on her team, have numbers that are higher in various categories. What’s impressive is the number of different areas where she excels. Plus, Nadig did it on a team where there were several players capable of putting up big numbers, and playing time was distributed among nine players. (more…)

The player who makes the biggest impact on a team’s success isn’t always the leading scorer, or a four-year starter, or some super stud. Sometimes it’s a player who was finally given the chance, and came through with a great game.

That’s how Andy Menne from the Etna Lions basketball team found himself with a new workout shirt a couple of weeks ago.

The interesting thing about Menne is that he has the sweetest shot on the Etna team. If you’re looking to show someone proper form for jump shooting, Menne’s the guy you’d choose from the Lions.

The problem is over the past three years, he hasn’t had much of a chance to show it. I can attest from first hand knowledge that there are more than a couple of people that thought more PT was in order, but the prior coach saw it differently. So, Menne continued to wait.

Then, he got his break. An injury to an Etna player opened up a spot on the starting five. The Lions’ new coach, Mike Pendley, spent the first few games of the season searching for the fifth starter, trying three or four different players. Based upon his play in the Rogue River Tournament, Menne was given a shot.

A few days later, his breakthrough game came against the Yreka Miners. Etna had already lost to Yreka earlier in the season. In the rematch, Coach Pendley gave Menne a job—contain one of Yreka’s most dangerous scorers. As it turned out, he not only contained the player, but outscored him as well. Menne had 10 points in the game, including a couple of in-your-face jumpers late in the game, and Etna won, 63-61. (more…)

One lesson and Cricket Postma was hooked on reining. That was about a year ago, and now the freshman at Etna High School is looking at the possibility of competing at the American Quarter Horse Youth World Championships in Oklahoma City, in August.

Cricket’s first reining lesson was with Sam Gemaehlich on Pepe, a horse that Cricket’s family had just purchased. That first time on Pepe didn’t go so well. Although a trained reiner, it had been a while since Pepe had been tuned up. So, Cricket really didn’t get the full feeling of reining. That, however, would change. (more…)