By Rick Martin, KCWH radio 102.3/101.7

Slide show coming on Sunday

No one ever said winning a league title was easy, so it was only fitting that the Mount Shasta Lady Bears had to claw and scratch their way to a share of the Shasta Cascade League title Friday night in Weed. The Bears earned a 36-30 win over the host Cougars, clinching their part of a three-way tie atop the SCL with Etna and Fall River.

The first half was ugly for both teams – particularly the Bears – who didn’t even manage a FG until late in the 2nd quarter against a tough Weed defense. Weed got the scoring started on a basket by Nicolette Neel just over two minutes into the game, and Sierra Skeen added a bucket a short time later for a 4-0 Cougar lead. Mount Shasta’s only points of the period followed – one free throw from Kismet Prosper, then two for Taylor Hansen.

Dan DeRoss’ Cougars got off to a fast start in the 2nd, with Skeen burying a three on the opening possession. Jeanna Michaels added two more FT for the Bears to make it a 7-5 game early in the 2nd quarter. Then came a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought for both teams – a drought which was equal parts good defense and poor offensive execution. Neel broke the drought with a baseline jumper at the 3:40 mark, making it a 9-5 game. Then the Bears answered with their first FG – a put back of an Amanda Amesbury three-point try. Two Cougar FTs and a put-back by Kera Vogel gave weed a six-point lead in the final seconds of the frame, but the Bears sent a message before the half, when Hansen drilled a long three to close the gap to 13-10 at intermission.

“In that first half, we had a bunch of excited girls, all out there trying to win the game for us in the first quarter,” said coach Dan Hansen after the game. “That’s not what we do, and we got back to the way we like to play after halftime.”

In the second half, Skeen again opened the scoring with a three, but Prosper answered right back for Mount Shasta. That seemed to wake the Bears up, and their offense started clicking. Prosper scored on a driving layup, Skeen answered with a mid-range jumper, before Hansen was fouled on a 3 point try, hitting two of the free throws. She drained a three a short time later, then scored on a put back under the basket with 3:50 left in the period to tie the game at 22. After a defensive stop, the Bears got the ball back, with Michels coming up short on a three pointer. The ball looked to be going out of bounds, but Prosper was able to save it to Kendra Woodglass underneath – and she scored to give the Bears their first lead. Amanda Greene tied it with a jumper, but Hansen gave the Bears the lead again with a pair of FTs in the final minute of the period, 26-24.

That’s where it stood heading to the 4th quarter, but Greene quickly tied it with a jump shot in the paint. The Bears, however, would rattle off the next 7 points, sandwiching a pair of Rachel Abbott baskets around another three from Hansen. With the score 33-26, Neel kept the Cougars close with a three-ball with 4:38 remaining. That would turnout to be the last made shot for either team from the floor. A Vogel FT then made it a one possession game with 3:21 left. It stayed that way until the 1:54 mark, when Amesbury was fouled and hit one of two to make the score 34-30. Neither team scored on their next two possessions, but Amesbury was able to ice things at the line with :29 remaining, knocking down two FTs for the final margin.

“We knew they’d give us a battle tonight, and that’s good, ” said Hansen. “I told my girls that now we’re ready. We won’t get a tougher game in the playoffs. We know what we can do, so let’s go and do it.”

The Bears were led by Taylor Hansen’s 18 points – including three 3’s. Prosper finished with 8, while Amesbury and Abbott added four points each.

Weed was led by Skeen’s 12 points, while Greene tallied 9 and Neel added 7. The Cougars had a rough night at the stripe, converting just 5 of 17 FTs

The Mount Shasta JV girls won their game as well, 32-26. That win – coupled with Trinity’s loss at Modoc on Thursday – gave Greta Jones’ squad a share of the SCL JV title at 9-3.