

CV
U-Prep
3-0
3-1
4/16 7:30 PM
Shasta
Enterprise
3-1
1-3
4/16 6 PM
Foothill
West Valley
3-1
3-0
4/16 7:30 PM
Lassen
Anderson
1-3
0-2
4/16 6 PM
PV
Red Bluff
1-1
2-2
4/16 6 PM
Maxwell
Redd Chr
0-2
1-2
4/16 7 PM
Chico
Paradise
1-1
3-0
4/16 7:30 PM
Las Plumas
Sutter
1-2
2-0
4/16 7:30 PM
Oroville
Corning
1-1
1-2
4/16 7:30 PM
Durham
Pierce
2-1
3-1
4/16 7:30 PM
Live Oak
Biggs
0-2
5-0
4/16 7:30 PM
Wheatland
East Nic
0-3
0-2
4/16 7 PM
Hamilton
Williams
1-3
1-2
4/16 7:30 PM
Quincy
Portola
2-1
5-0
4/16 7:30 PM
Pioneer
Winters
3-0
2-1
4/16 7:30 PM
Shasta
Siskiyous
52
51
FINAL
Shasta
Feather River
24
17
FINAL
Feather River
Shasta College
21
31
FINAL
Siskiyous
Shasta College
19
16
FINAL
Shasta
Foothill
42
14
FINAL
Red Bluff
Enterprise
28
21
FINAL
U-Prep
Yreka
46
6
FINAL
CV
Lassen
12
7
FINAL
Redd Chr
Portola
00
35
FINAL
Chico
PV
14
20
FINAL - OT
Gridley
Corning
34
7
FINAL
Paradise
Pierce
31
21
FINAL
Oroville
Sutter
47
7
FINAL
Durham
East Nic
35
13
FINAL
Las Plumas
Wheatland
46
7
FINAL
Hamilton
Los Molinos
20
12
FINAL
Williams
Biggs
8
49
FINAL
Winters
Live Oak
1-1
0-1
4/9 7:30 PM
Loyalton
Quincy
1-2
2-1
4/9 7 PM
Foothill
Enterprise
28
15
FINAL
West Valley
U-Prep
30
00
FINAL
Redding Chr
CV
5
13
FINAL
Shasta
Red Bluff
28
7
FINAL
Anderson
CV
0-2
1-0
Canceled
Yreka
Lassen
20
39
FINAL
PV
Yuba City
7
14
Fri 7:15 PM
Corning
Chico
1-0
49
Fri 7:30 PM
Orland
Las Plumas
1-1
0-1
Canceled
Live Oak
Durham
13
49
FINAL
Portola
Los Molinos
21
8
FINAL
Greenville
Quincy
00
61
FINAL
Bradshaw Chr
Winters
30
37
FINAL
Gridley
Sutter
1-0
1-0
Thur 7:30 PM
Hamilton
Biggs
0-2
3-0
Thur 7 PM
Oroville
Wheatland
0-1
0-1
Thur 7:30 PM
Enterprise
Shasta
7
57
FINAL
Foothill
Red Bluff
14
13
FINAL
U-Prep
Anderson
21
13
FINAL
Lassen
West Valley
00
39
FINAL
CV
Yreka
18
14
FINAL
Los Molinos
Redding Chr
20
32
FINAL
PV
Sutter
0-0
1-0
Canceled
Paradise
East Nic
1-0
0-0
Canceled
Greenville
Portola
38
66
FINAL
Orland
Oroville
20
6
FINAL
Winters
River City
13
27
FINAL
Portola
Biggs
2-0
2-0
Fri 7:30 PM
Las Plumas
Corning
20
27
FINAL
Wheatland
Gridley
14
43
FINAL
Pierce
Williams
0-0
0-0
Fri 7:30 PM
Durham
Hamilton
0-1
0-1
Fri 7:30 PM
Hayfork
Chester
0-0
0-0
Thur 6PM
West Valley
Shasta
20
19
FINAL
Enterprise
Anderson
21
14
FINAL
Lassen
Foothill
7
55
FINAL
Yreka
U-Prep
6
48
FINAL
Sutter
Truckee
14
7
FINAL
Red Bluff
Orland
18
00
FINAL
Durham
Paradise
21
33
FINAL
Portola
Quincy
45
00
FINAL
Los Molinos
Biggs
8
52
FINAL
When crunch time hits, it’s often a senior, or perhaps even a junior, that meets the moment and wills his or her team to victory.
Rarely, does a sophomore rise up and take control down the stretch.
West Valley’s Madalynn Bassett broke that mold this year, stepping into the forefront as the Eagles made a run to the Northern California Division V finals this season before falling to Branson of Ross.
The long, smooth 10th grader led West Valley (26-9, 10-0 Northern Athletic League) with an 11.5 point per game average, but really saved her A-game for the Eagles’ postseason run that ended one game short of what would’ve been a trip to Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
Bassett averaged a shade under 15 points per outing in five playoff games, hitting double digits in all but one – the low-scoring 29-26 gutsy Northern Section Division IV finals win over U-Prep.
“She really was great for us all year long,” said West Valley coach Lenny Ehn. “But she truly played her best basketball during that playoff run.”
For the season-long success of the Eagles and leading her team within a game of a state title, Bassett is the 2019-2020 Shasta County Sports Girls Basketball Most Valuable Player, presented by Weaver Lumber and Milgard Windows.
She scored, in succession, 17 against Oroville, 15 vs. Gridley, eight against U-Prep, 15 in a win over LeGrand, 16 vs. Portola, 16 in a rematch with U-Prep and 16 in the nine-point loss to Branson.
SEE MORE: Shasta County Sports 2019-20 All-County Girls Basketball Team
“All year long, Madalynn played above her years, but she got more aggressive and confident (in the playoffs),” her coach said.
Her emergence on the North State basketball scene might have come as a head-scratcher to some, but not to Ehn.
As a freshman, Bassett scored nine, 13, and 13 points in a trio of postseason appearances for the Eagles.
“She came up for us and hit a bunch of 3s in the postseason,” he said. “So heading into her sophomore season she’d already played a handful of meaningful varsity games.
“She’s only a sophomore by grade.”
Madalynn Basset drives to the basket in the Eagles’ 57-48 loss to Branson in the Northern California Division V finals. Bassett averaged nearly 15 points per game in the Eagles’ seven-game postseason run. (Photo by Mike Daly / Shasta County Sports)
Ehn describes Bassett as a “student of the game” who’s constantly working to improve her all-around game. She watches film with her father, Ehn said, as well drilling herself to improve aspects of her overall game.
“She’s always working to get better,” Ehn said. “We’d stay late shooting, putting in extra time.”
Two areas where he saw the most growth in her game over the course of the Eagles’ 35-game season were Bassett’s ball-handling ability and her mid-range game.
He told the tale of how senior Jasee Heacock missed a couple of games with an injury and he went to Bassett prior to tipoff and told her that any time Maddie Steele, the Eagles’ senior point guard, had to sit that she was running the offense.
“She didn’t bat an eye,” he said. “She has great ball-handling skills.”
As far as expanding her game inward from beyond the 3-point arc, Ehn said those same ball-handling skills helped Bassett become an even bigger threat.
“Her true position is probably a 3 (shooting guard),” he said.
But, while she’s not a 6-footer, she’s big enough that if you task a guard to cover her, Bassett can shoot over the shorter player; put a forward out on her and Bassett takes the opponent off the dribble.
“It’s nice to see her develop an inside-out game,” Ehn said.
And what’s to become of Bassett and West Valley expectations now she’s shined on the biggest stages in the area?
The sky’s really the limit.
Aaron Williams has been involved in the North State sports scene for nearly two decades. He spent eight years as the Sports Editor for the local newspaper and another four more as the voice of high school football on the radio. Williams has coached various sports at the high school level over the past decade, most recently at Shasta High, and is also the public address announcer for the Shasta College football and basketball teams.
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