Lady Eagles fall, 72-69

WEED – The COS Screamin’ Eagles rocked the house on Wednesday night, as they turned out the lights on the rival Shasta Knights. Among many highlights, Alden Gibbs put on a slam dunk show for the ages, with a little help from his friends. Gibbs had several jams during the contest, but none more exciting than the one that put the Eagles up 12-6.

Eagle teammate Brian Cummings received a pass too far under the basket to score. So, he flipped the ball back over his head to a high-flying Gibbs who, in one motion, hammered the rock home. The play electrified the crowd and set the tone for the rest of the game.

After Shasta scored, Eagle Andrew McNabb made it 14-8. An ally oop pass from Drew Herrera to Gibbs for another dunk, doubled up the score at 16-8. With the score 18-10, Jeff Williams dialed long distance, extending the lead to 11 points, 21-10. The remainder of the first half was played relatively evenly, and the Eagles went to the locker room with a 36-26 lead.

Dijon Edwards opened the scoring in the second half, giving the Eagles a 38-26 lead. With the score 40-28, the Knights made a run closing the margin to six points at 40-34. Gibbs ended the run with a 3-ball, and then a steal and dunk, upping the lead to 45-34.

With about 6:30 left to play, the Eagles gained their biggest advantage, 73-53, when Zack Hancock nailed a 3-pointer. About three minutes later, Gibbs punctuated the win, slamming down a rebound for his 24th point. COS went on to an 80-69 win.

Alden Gibbs led the Eagles with 24 points, Jeff Williams and Dijon Edwards each had 12 points, and Zack Hancock put up 10.

Lady Eagles

The COS Lady Eagles didn’t fare quite as well as the men. However, the situation looked pretty good early, with the Eagles scoring easily both inside and outside.

Jennifer Whipple connected with Leah Swain on a pass over the top to tie the score at 2-2. Trailing 6-2, Stephanie Batchelder hit a bucket and then ripped a triple to give the Lady Eagles the lead 7-6. A trey by Whipple made it 10-8. Then the Eagles went back inside, with Batchelder dropping a dime to Swain for a bucket, making it 12-8.

About midway through the first half, Crissy Watts turned back-to-back swipes into a pair of baskets, giving COS a 20-15 lead. A hoop by Kelley Stephens gave the Lady Eagles their biggest advantage of the contest at 22-15. Shasta responded by outscoring COS 17-7 the remainder of the half, and took a 32-29 lead into the intermission.

Two in a row from Swain to open the second half put COS back on top 33-32. The lead changed hands several times in the second half. The Eagles’ last lead came with 6:40 remaining, when Amber Franko hit a 3-ball to make it 59-58.

With less than three minutes to go, and trailing 68-64, COS went to the press, which Shasta handle effectively. Still the Lady Eagles had chances to send the game to overtime. Franko hit from downtown to make it a one possession game at 72-69, with thirty seconds left to play.

COS went to the foul and hope strategy and Shasta obliged by missing the front end of a 1-and-1. COS grabbed the rebound, but promptly threw the ball away. Another foul and another missed free throw gave COS the ball with a chance to tie. But, the final shot clanged off the rim, leaving the Lady Knights with a 72-69 victory.