YREKA – It’s been a tough season for the Yreka Lady Miners, with wins coming few and far between. But, despite losing to the Anderson Cubs on Friday night, the Lady Miners showed the ability to battle through adversity to mount a come back bid.

Yreka trailed by 13 points, 37-24, going into the fourth quarter, and lost point guard Adriana Scala to a Cub tomahawk chop on the arm early in the quarter. The injury to their teammate seemed to energize and motivate the Lady Miners, as they out scored Anderson 13-5 in the final frame, narrowly missing a come from behind win, 42-37.

Anderson broke out to a 5-0 lead to start the game. But, the Lady Miners came back to go up 10-8 on a 3-pointer by Ashley Lemos with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Anderson answered at the buzzer with a 3-ball to give the Cubs an 11-10 lead going into the second quarter.

Taylor Brooks, who had a strong all around game, put Yreka back up 12-11 to start the second frame. A pair from the charity stripe for Scala made it 14-11. Jaylene Phillips put back a rebound to up the advantage to 16-11. Anderson cut the deficit to one point, 16-15, with two hoops. Another Phillips put back made it 18-15. The squads then exchange buckets to bring the score to 20-17. Unfortunately for the Lady Miners, their good play through the first 13 minutes of the game was erased in the final three minutes of the half, as Anderson closed with a 10-0 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to lead 27-20 at the intermission.

The Cubs increased their lead to 13 points, 37-24, in the third quarter.

Lemos opened the fourth quarter scoring with a put back for Yreka making it 37-26. Shortly thereafter, Scala was injured driving to the hoop, when an Anderson player hacked her arm from behind. Scala was forced to leave the game. AmMathee Stott shot the free throws for Scala, sinking both to cut the margin to nine points, 37-28.

The Lady Miners seemed highly motivated after the Scala injury and upped their defensive pressure and game intensity, forcing several turnovers and two shot clock violations. A bucket by Emily Bigelow made it 39-30. Brooks added a hoop, 39-32. Stott went coast-to-coast for a lay up, 39-34. Stott then hit a trey, after a Cub turnover, bringing the Lady Miners within a basket of tying the game with 2:42 on the clock.

That, however, would be the last score for Yreka. Anderson sealed it at the line with three freebies to close out its 42-37 win.

Jaylene Phillips led Yreka with 10 points. AmMathee Stott scored 7 points, all in the final 6:30 of the game. Ashley Lemos also had 7 points, and Taylor Brooks added 6 point.

Yreka (3-13, 0-4) goes to Central Valley (11-9, 1-3) on Tuesday, February 2.

Junior Varsity

The Lady Miner JVs had a strong start, leading 10-5 after the fist quarter, and 21-15 at the half. However, Anderson used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to over take Yreka, and go on to win 46-35.

Mackenzie Allan led Yreka with 9 points, 13 boards, and 5 steals. Krista Freeze, Danielle Deegan, and Katie Brummett each contributed 6 points.

Frosh

The Lady Miner frosh were the lone winners on Friday night, doubling up the Cubs 28-14. Yreka led 8-4 after the first quarter, 14-10 at half, and 18-12 at the end of three quarters.

The Lady Miner frosh outscored Anderson 10-2 in the final frame to turn a competitive game into a rout.

Allison Charleboix led Yreka with 12 points, 5 boards and 9 steals. Riva Martin, Baylee Harris, and Emily Andrus each put up 4 points. Angela Hansen had 8 rebounds, Jasmine Glenn pulled down 7 boards. The Yreka defense had 20 steals in the game, and forced 35 turnovers. Anderson scored just 4 points in the second half.

Mark McAlister of KSYC radio 103.9 fm contributed to the JV and frosh portions of this article.