COOPER HELPS KNIGHTS TO SECOND PLACE AT CRC INVITE

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Shasta College women's basketball team finished in second place the Cosumnes River College Invitational over the weekend.

The Knights beat Los Medanos 97-64 and West Hills Lemoore 55-44 before losing to LA Trade Tech 82-70 in the tournament championship.

Freshman forward Justyse Cooper totaled double-doubles in two of the three games and averaged 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in the tournament.

In the season-opener, Shasta outscored Los Medanos 50-31 through the middle quarters to pull away and six players scored in double figures for the Knights, including all five starters. Keely Tuggle led the way with 20 points, Cooper had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Kayla Bonomini added 13 points, Mari Fernandez chipped in with 12 points and Jordan Martinez added 10 points and nine assists. Terra Crawford scored 19 points of the bench for Shasta.

Against West Hills-Lemoore, Cooper registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Fernandez paced the Knights in scoring with 13 points and Bonomini scored 12 points. Martinez contributed 11 points with her team-leading six assists.

Against LA Trade Tech, Shasta was outscored 51-31 by halftime and was outrebounded 57-20 in the game. Cooper led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds in the loss while Martinez scored 13 points to go with five assists and four steals. Tuggle added 10 points and Fernandez pitched in nine points while Crawford scored eight points off the bench.

Shasta (2-1) plays at Hartnell Tuesday and Modesto on Wednesday.