Win number 20 puts Siskiyous on top of GVC

By Reggie Stiteler
Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:04 PM CST
Mt. Shasta News

College of the Siskiyous' Karlee Myers and Kristi Arness played their high school basketball as teammates in Chico.

So when the Eagles travelled to neighboring Oroville to face the packed house the GVC leading Butte Roadrunners filled Wednesday of last week, the crowd's interest went beyond the home team.

But Siskiyous left the majority of the crowd disappointed, as the visiting Eagles handed Butte their first GVC loss of the 2008 season, 73-68, leaving the two teams tied atop the standings.

With one minute to play, Myers, the new COS women's career scoring leader, took over.

The sophomore forward hit a three-pointer to pull her team to within a point, then on the ensuing possession got fouled and converted both free throws to put the Eagles on top with 32 seconds to play.

Butte missed a three-point attempt on its next possession and fouled Eagle Courtney Barlow after she grabbed the rebound.

After Barlow's foul shot missed, teammate Jazmin McDaniel secured the rebound, got fouled and made both her attempts to give the Eagles a three point cushion.

Then with the clock winding down, Eagle Amanda Harris nabbed a steal and converted a lay up to clinch it.

“The win was a big relief,” Myers said. “It was awesome playing in front of all the fans and the win keeps us in the race.”

The local girls led Siskiyous, Myers with 27 points and Arness with 18.

“We did what we were supposed to do,” COS coach Tom Powers said, whose Siskiyous team moved to 20-5 overall and 5-1 in the GVC.

The Eagles came out hot, shooting themselves to a 43-26 first half lead.

But with 10 minutes to play in the second half, the Eagles found themselves down by a point to the Roadrunners (20-8, 5-1), who stretched their lead to four points five minutes later.

Guard Stephanie Batchelder, who also hails from Chico, got the starting nod filling in for the injured Crissy Watts.

Powers credited Barlow and Kelly Stevens, in tandem with Batchelder, for stepping up in Watts' absence.

Siskiyous also received strong performances from Ally West who connected on five three-point field goals for her 15 points, and Harris who netted 11 points.

“As long as we keep playing together and making our shots we should be in good shape,” Myers said of her team's goal in winning the conference. “We've picked up our play a lot recently.”

Siskiyous avenged an earlier 78-72 loss to Butte in their first match-up this season on Jan. 16. The Eagles hold a tiebreaker over the Roadrunners due to their power ranking if they end the season in a deadlock.

Siskiyous had a week off and hope to have Watts back coming into tonight's game against Feather River in Weed.

The Eagles final home game is Saturday versus Redwoods at 2 p.m. when the college will honor their sophomore athletes.