Champs: Girls earn tournament title

Members of the Del Norte High girls varsity basketball team pose with their first place trophy, which they earned at a tournament in Mount Shasta on Saturday. The Warriors are currently 6-2 for the year. The Daily Triplicate/Rick Postal

The squad took down Mount Shasta, which hosted the tournament, 41-39 Saturday night as the Warriors improved to one of their best starts in a while at 6-2. Already, they are only two victories away from equaling the number of wins they earned last  season.

Senior Lauryn Lesina, who was named MVP of the tournament, said it was a great feeling to do so well.

“I think it makes everyone believe,” she said. “It feels great the way we’re playing now.”

“It gives us a lot more confidence coming into league,” fellow senior Ariana Spalding said about the tournament title.“It feels great, especially since it’s my senior year.”

Originally, the event had six teams but a squad canceled right before it was about to start.

After two games Mount Shasta was on top at 2-0. There were three teams, Del Norte, Yreka and University Prep, that were 1-1.

The Warriors lost to Mount Shasta by nine points in the first  day of the tournament on Thursday. Del Norte defeated University Prep the next night.

Del Norte came out fired up against the Miners, determined to make the title game and a rematch against Mount Shasta and cruised to a 56-41 victory.

They had only about an hour break before they took the court again for the title game against the Bears, who had more rest since they had not played since the night before.

The contest was quite close throughout, Warrior head coach Buzz McCulloch said. While Del Norte led for the majority of the way, it was by only a few points or so.

“It was a battle,” he said, adding that  he was proud of the way his team was able to hang on for the win and the title. “We played a strong tournament.”

McCulloch, who is in his sixth year with the Warriors, said this is the best start since he has been head coach and the first time as coach that the team has won a tournament.

Assistant coach Greg Yeager said that while it is still early in the year it is certainly nice to have such a positive start after the team has struggled to put wins on the board the past several years.

“We’re progressing,” he said,  adding that the tournament win is “a great confidence booster ... It was a real team effort. The bench was really involved.”

While it is a great achievement, the team must remain focused, not get sidetracked, and continue to play hard. This is especially true when the Big 5 season starts, both coaches said. Last year, the Warriors  went 0-8 in the Big 5 and only  won one conference game the year before. This  year, Del Norte is hoping that this early season success bodes well for a solid year in a  tough conference.

In the Yreka contest Lesina led Del Norte scorers with 24 points while Rachel Lawrence and Lexie Nelson each had 10 points, while Kristyn Rook had eight points.

In the Mount Shasta game, Lesina led the team in scorers with 16 points and Spalding had nine points and Lawrence finished with eight points.

Nelson and Gaby Zepeda were named to the all-tournament team.

McCulloch also commended senior Paula Rhodes, whom he said played excellent defense for them off the bench.

 He also said that Spalding did a good job for the Warriors on the boards and was a key contributor in points in the title game.

Lawrence started the final three tourney games at point guard and did a top-notch job moving the offense and getting the ball to her fellow players, her coach said.