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Sports 1B Weekend Dec. 21-22, 2013 RED BLUFF HOLIDAY CLASSIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Lady Wolves edge Spartans, 32-30 By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer What started as an offensive slog finished with a thrilling fourth period Friday as Shasta High School's girls basketball team defeated Red Bluff, 32-30 as time expired. The Spartans (5-3) went to the fourth period down 2619 and struggled to find its way offensively throughout the semifinal game of Red Bluff's Holiday Classic tournament. Red Bluff's Daisy Brose, however, opened the period with a 3-pointer, and then sank 1 of 3 free throw attempts to cut Shasta's lead to 26-23. Shasta would extend its lead to 30-26 after Claire Walton drained a field goal and Emmi Petersen sank two free throws. Chelsey Bushnell then gave the Spartans the spark they needed all night, scoring five straight points to bring her team within two points at 30-28 with about 1:10 left to play in the game. Red Bluff's stifling defense forced a Shasta turnover, and after two big offensive rebounds from the Spartans, center Payten McKerras was sent to the line to shoot two with 17 seconds remaining. The 6-foot-3 McKerras drilled two clutch free throws to tie the game at 30, bringing the Red Bluff faithful to cheers. But Shasta (6-2) found Petersen along the right baseline. Peterson stopped, took what little space she had and pulled up for a midrange jumper that fell through the net, just beating the final buzzer. Petersen finished the game with eight points. McKerras had six points, Brose had 11, and Bushnell added eight of her own. The Spartans will face Corning in a third-pace game at 3 p.m. today, Saturday. Shasta will face Enterprise for the Holiday Classic title at 6 p.m. today. Enterprise won the tournament last year. In other results, the Enterprise Lady Hornets defeated the Corning Cardinals, 70-29. Corning's Gates Fears finished with eight points, and Grace Mora had four. On the boys side, the Red Bluff Spartans edged the Pleasant Valley Vikings, 48-45. The Spartans will face Enterprise in the fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m. today. Red Bluff's Matthew Fox had 12 points, and Greg DuFour finished with nine. Enterprise thumped the Paradise Bobcats, 77-47. The Lake Oswego Lakers downed the Franklin Wildcats, 58-38 to reach the Holiday Classic championship game at 7:30 p.m. today. ——— Andre Byik can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports Daily News photo by Andre Byik Red Bluff High's Daisy Brose shoots a free throw during a basketball game against Shasta High on Thursday at Red Bluff's Holiday Classic tournament. Saturday's Red Bluff Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament Schedule BOYS Paradise vs. Pleasant Valley, 10:30 a.m. Enterprise vs. Red Bluff, 1:30 p.m. Franklin vs. Golden Valley or South Medford, 4:30 p.m. Lake Oswego vs. Golden Valley or South Medford, 7:30 p.m. GIRLS West Valley vs. Central Valley, 9 a.m. Paradise vs. Ferndale, noon Red Bluff vs. Corning, 3 p.m. Enterprise vs. Shasta, 6 p.m. Daily News photo by Andre Byik 49ers host Falcons in NFC title game rematch SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two teams separated by just a few plays and all of four points for a berth to the Super Bowl last February now find themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum and standings. The San Francisco 49ers (10-4) are riding a fourgame winning streak and surging down the stretch with a playoff berth practically in hand. The Atlanta Falcons (4-10), meanwhile, sit in last place in the NFC South and soon will be headed into a longer offseason than they imagined less than a year after a loss to San Francisco on their home field. Tehama Tracker Saturday's schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Red Bluff Holiday Classic Corning at Colusa Tournament GIRLS BASKETBALL Corning at Red Bluff Holiday Classic Red Bluff at Red Bluff Holiday Classic WRESTLING Red Bluff at Butte Tournament in Las Plumas, 9 a.m. Corning at Folsom Tournament, 9 a.m. NBA BASKETBALL Sacramento at Orlando, 4 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. NHL HOCKEY Dallas at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's schedule NFL FOOTBALL Oakland at San Diego, 1:25 p.m. Monday's schedule NFL FOOTBALL Atlanta at San Francisco, 5:40 p.m. NBA BASKETBALL Golden State at Denver, 6 p.m. New Orleans at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Sports on TV COLLEGE FOOTBALL 9 a.m. ESPN2 — NCAA, Division II, championship, NW Missouri St. vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, at Florence, Ala. 11 a.m. ESPN — New Mexico Bowl, Washington St. vs. Colorado St., at Albuquerque, N.M. 12:30 p.m. ABC — Las Vegas Bowl, Fresno St. vs. Southern Cal 2:30 p.m. ESPN — Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Buffalo vs. San Diego St., at Boise, Idaho 6 p.m. ESPN — New Orleans Bowl, Louisiana-Lafayette at Tulane GOLF 7 p.m. TGC — The Royal Trophy, final round, at Guangzhou, China MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 9 a.m. ESPN — Georgetown at Kansas FSN — Tulsa at TCU 11 a.m. FSN — Florida St. vs. UMass, at Sunrise, Fla. FS1 — Youngstown St. at St. John's Noon NBCSN — Hampton vs. James Madison (at Richmond Coliseum) 12:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Gonzaga vs. Kansas St., at Wichita, Kan. 1 p.m. CBS — National coverage, Michigan St. at Texas FS1 — Rider at Villanova 1:30 p.m. FSN — Florida vs. Fresno St., at Sunrise, Fla. 2:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Illinois vs. Missouri, at St. Louis NBCSN — Virginia Tech vs. VCU, at Richmond, Va. 3 p.m. FS1 — Louisville at FIU 4:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Ohio St. vs. Notre Dame, at New York 5:30 p.m. FS1 — Michigan vs. Stanford, at Brooklyn, N.Y. 8:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Colorado vs. Oklahoma St., at Las Vegas NBA BASKETBALL 5 p.m. WGN — Cleveland at Chicago SOCCER 4:40 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Cardiff at Liverpool 6:55 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Manchester City at Fulham WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 — NCAA, Division I, championship, Wisconsin vs. Penn St., at Seattle Sunday MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2 p.m. FSN — Southern U. at Baylor FS1 — E. Washington at Seton Hall 4 p.m. FS1 — California at Creighton NFL FOOTBALL 10 a.m. CBS — Regional coverage, doubleheader FOX — Regional coverage 1 p.m. FOX — Regional coverage 1:25 p.m. CBS — Regional coverage, doubleheader game 5 p.m. NBC — New England at Baltimore SOCCER 5:25 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Tottenham at Southampton 7:55 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Everton at Swansea City WINTER SPORTS 11 a.m. NBC — USSA, Copper Mountain Grand Prix, ski slopestyle and snowboard halfpipe, at Frisco, Colo. (same-day tape) WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10 a.m. ESPN — California vs. UConn, at New York Monday COLLEGE FOOTBALL 11 a.m. ESPN — Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, East Carolina vs. Ohio, at St Petersburg, Fla. MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Diamond Head Classic, semifinal, teams TBD, at Honolulu NFL FOOTBALL 5:25 p.m. ESPN — Atlanta at San Francisco NHL HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Minnesota at Philadelphia SOCCER 11:55 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Arsenal vs. Chelsea, at London "They're a different team, we're a different team," San Francisco left tackle Joe Staley said. "New season." Now, the NFC champion Niners are more determined than ever to defend their home turf in the final game at Candlestick Park. Next season, San Francisco moves into new Levi's Stadium at team headquarters in Santa Clara. "It's the last game in Candlestick," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "We don't want to be the guys who screw up the last game in Candlestick. These players will come back 20-25 years from now and they want to have a good memory of winning at Candlestick." Harbaugh's players are treating it like any other important game on the schedule, not getting caught up in the fanfare and memories of the iconic stadium. "For us, we want to leave Candlestick with a win," quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. "That's what we're worried about." The way things have gone for Atlanta, the Falcons know how quickly things can turn. "The dynamics of the team change each and every year," coach Mike Smith said. "We've been a relevant team for the last five years. Unfortunately, we have not played up to our expectations. We are extremely disappointed in the way we've played in all three phases and the way we've coached." Here are four things to watch for Sunday: GONZALEZ'S LAST BAY AREA HURRAH: Former Cal star Tony Gonzalez will make his last Bay Area trip before retirement after the season. Gonzalez just reached 15,000 yards receiving. He will leave 20 tickets for family and friends, many making the trip from Southern California. "I don't know if there's any added emotions," Gonzalez said. "I'm taking everything with urgency, looking back going, 'This is it, I'll never have this opportunity again.' You can't take it for granted, because you don't know when it can be over. It's one of my last games." THE 'STICK SAYS SO LONG: The 49ers have played at Candlestick since 1971, so this farewell season has been bittersweet for many of the players who produced their greatest moments there. From Hall of Famers Jerry Rice, Joe Montana and Steve Young, to Dwight Clark and the famous "Catch" that made him a worldwide name, to the current players trying to do their part in the stadium's legacy, this game means a little bit more. "The guys who did great things before us, like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana and Steve Young, I'm glad I had the opportunity to play on the same field," running back Frank Gore said. DAWSON ON A ROLL: Phil Dawson has been on such a roll it affects Harbaugh's play-calling knowing he has a spot-on kicker. Dawson has converted a franchise-record 24 straight field-goal tries, and adjusted well to the wind and elements at Candlestick. "Real football player in every sense of the word, which that always doesn't get affixed to kickers and punters, but Phil is that kind of a teammate," Harbaugh said. "It's about accomplishing the mission and the goal of the team and him doing his job within that." Dawson realizes one missed kick can change a season, so he's not thinking too far ahead — like about his chance to stay with the 49ers after his one-year deal is done. "I'd love to be back," he said. "We've got some exciting football down the chute that's got my focus." STOPPING DAVIS: Vernon Davis needs one touchdown catch to match his career high of 13 set during the 2009 season. The Falcons will have to try to stop the speedy, athletic tight end from making a touchdown reception for a sixth straight game. He became the first tight end in NFL history with more than one 12-touchdown season. "He makes plays, that's the biggest thing to say about Vernon," Kaepernick said.