Women's Basketball
Lady Corsairs Run Out of Gas in Second Half
By Jackie Christensen/Eureka Reporter
Jan 22, 2008, 13:30

A hot start for the College of the Redwoods women didn’t hold up in the second half as the Corsairs dropped their Golden Valley Conference opener against rival Shasta 67-48 on Wednesday at Eureka.

The Corsairs opened the game with a hot hand and a chip on their shoulders as freshman Allissa Williamson hit three of the Corsairs’ six first-half 3-pointers to help CR jump out to an 18-8 lead early.

CR’s Whitney Phillips hit two 3s in the first half and Antoinette Risling added another and the Corsairs took a 29-23 lead into halftime.

Unfortunately for the Corsairs, however, that momentum didn’t carry over into the second half.

Fatigue took its toll after the break, and the Corsairs, who have just eight players on their roster compared to Shasta’s 13, weren’t making the same shots and weren’t playing as aggressive on defense in the second half.

Shasta tied the game two minutes into the second half and quickly built a 10-point lead after that.

“Every time we come over here (CR) plays its best ball against us,” said Shasta head coach Jerry Brown. “So we knew we just had to weather the storm. We didn’t do anything different in the second half, I think we just wore them down with our pressure. They weren’t hitting their shots and we were able to pick up some easy steals and push the ball in transition.”

The Knights, who feature four players out of the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference, had 16 steals in the game and hit seven 3-pointers in the second half to distance themselves.

Shasta’s Sondra Stillwell scored a game-high 19 points, adding eight assists, while former South Fork star Janay Wilkinson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Former Eureka Logger Katelyn Guild scored five points and had seven rebounds for Shasta.

“Shasta is one of the best teams in our conference and the state,” said CR head coach Kara Newman. “And they have a lot more depth than we do, which is a real testament to our team. Our girls came out fired up and wanted to win this game, and now we know that we can compete. From here, it’s all about putting the little things together before we get another shot at them.”

For CR, which dropped to 0-1 in the GVC and 7-13 overall, Williamson finished with four 3s and a team-high 16 points, and had three rebounds and two blocks. CR’s Natoya Campbell added five assists and seven rebounds.

With the win, Shasta improved to 1-0 in conference and 15-4 overall.

The Corsairs play next on Saturday when they host Siskiyous at 2 p.m.



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