Feb. 9, 2010 — Defense was the name of the game as the Lassen High School varsity girls basketball team fell 46-36 to a tough Corning crew.    

The Grizzlies’ defense faltered in the second quarter letting Corning race to a 29-17 advantage.        

Corning was able to maintain the lead into the second half as Lassen tried to whittle into the Cardinals’ lead. The Lassen girls were able to move up by three points but could not make up the early deficit.

Taylor Waddell led the Grizzlies with 12 points followed by Carlotta Kloppenburg with nine, Raeyel Shepherd with eight, Sierra Hicks with four, Haylee Shaffer with two and Cheyenne Ratkey with one.   

Defensively Shepherd had six rebounds on the night, Shaffer and Kloppenburg each had five and Waddell and Hicks each had two.   

Previous to the Corning game, Lassen took a narrow 67-61 double-overtime win over Central Valley away. The Lassen girls made the trip to Shasta Lakes, Calif., well worth their while as Shepherd commanded the game both offensively and defensively with 18 points and 11 rebounds on the night.   

Kloppenburg followed with 15 points and nine rebounds, not to mention the three-point shot that sent the game into overtime. Shaffer had 13 points and seven boards and Waddell had eight points on the game.   

“The Central Valley game was an absolute war,” said Lassen varsity Coach Paul Moore. “They had a ton of people there and we had our two younger teams cheering at the top of their lungs, it was exciting.   

“Both teams played really hard, and it was a fun game to be a part of. I was just glad that we came out on top in the end.”   

Central Valley’s Lala Forrest-Cawker had a notable 30-point performance on the night and averages 19.2 points per game.   

Lassen now stands with a 10-9 overall record and a 2-3 league record.    

The team then battled Yreka away on Friday, Feb. 5. No results were available from this game. The next home game is tonight at 7:30 p.m. against Corning in the Lassen High School Cave.