WEED – It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win for the Mt. Shasta Lady Bears over the Weed Lady Cougars on Tuesday night, 35-25. In a game where both the Bears and Cougars spent large amounts of time wandering aimlessly through the wilderness in search of points, Mt. Shasta found a strong fourth quarter, outscoring Weed 11-3.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Bears led 6-2 on a pair of buckets by Rachel Abbot and a hoop by Amanda Amesbury.

It took over two minutes for either squad to score in the second quarter. Weed’s Sierra Skeen was first to notch a basket to make the score 6-4. Lori Garcia tied it at 6-6. Taylor Hansen put the Lady Bears back in front 8-6, but that was the last tally for Mt. Shasta until just before halftime.

Nicolette Neel nailed a 3-ball to give Weed its first lead, 9-8, half way through the second quarter. Amanda Greene followed with a basket, making it 11-8. A hoop by Neel and a 3-pointer from Skeen extended Weed’s lead to eight points, 16-8. Lady Bear Jaycee Sarti answered the call with a long distance bucket just before the buzzer, leaving Weed with a 16-11 lead.

Mt. Shasta battled back to tie the contest at 19-19 on a bucket by Jeana Michels three minutes into the third quarter. Neel put Weed back in front 21-19. Mt. Shasta tied it again on a nice up and under move by Donnetta Young. A freebie and a basket by Taylor Hansen gave the Lady Bears the advantage at 24-21. Going into the final frame, Mt. Shasta led 24-22.

The Lady Bears put the match away early in the fourth quarter, when Hansen scored and then hit from downtown making the score 31-22. Weed’s only fourth quarter points came on a freebie and a put back by Greene, as the Lady Bears went on to win 35-25.

Taylor Hansen and Donnetta Young led the Lady Bears with 10 points a piece.

Weed was led by Amanda Greene’s double-double, 10 points and 10 boards. Nicolette Neel had seven points, and Sierra Skeen had six. Lori Garcia grabbed nine rebounds.

The win improved Mt. Shasta’s record to 5-1 in the Shasta Cascade League. The Lady Bears lead the SCL, followed by Etna at 5-2, and Trinity at 3-2. The Lady Bears lost to Etna earlier this season, and beat Trinity. Mt. Shasta goes to Fall River on Friday.

Weed drops to 2-4 in the SCL, and hosts Trinity on Friday.