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ByBrianMahoney TheAssociatedPress NEW YORK Kobe Bryant is the leading vote-getter for his final NBA All-Star Game, and Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry made late moves to join him in the starting lineup. Leonard will start in his first All-Star Game and Lowry will start on his home court in Toronto after both made up ground in the final days of vot- ing on Thursday. Nobody was catching Bryant, who had 1.9 million votes and was selected an All-Star for the 18th time. "It'll be a special All-Star be- cause this is Kobe's last run," Miami's Dwyane Wade said. "Obviously, I wasn't in the league and didn't get a chance to see (Michael) Jordan's, but I was watching as a fan and it looked like it would be something cool to be a part of. So this will be special." MVP Stephen Curry of Golden State was next with 1.6 million and they will be joined in the Western Conference lineup by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Leonard, the San Antonio star who was more than 12,000 votes behind Golden State's Dray- mond Green for the last front- court spot after the most recent returns. Cleveland's LeBron James and Indiana's Paul George will start in the East frontcourt with New York's Carmelo Anthony, who held off Chicago's Pau Gasol by 360 votes. Wade starts at guard with Lowry, who overcame a 32,000- vote deficit to Cleveland's Kyrie Irving after the last update. NBA ALL-STAR GAME Kobe top vote-getter; Leonard, Lowry to start By Rick Silva rsilva@paradisepost.com @Post_RickSilva on Twitter RED BLUFF The Paradise High School varsity girls basketball team ran into a Red Bluff team that was hot from the 3-point line Tuesday night in a 67-34 loss at Red Bluff. The Spartans shot 47 percent from behind the arc in getting their first Eastern Athletic League win of the year. The bulk of the damage in- flicted by Red Bluff came from Maggie Winning. The sopho- more hit all four or her 3-point- ers in the game, including three in a 30-point third quarter for the Spartans. The Spartans led the Bobcats 17-6, including a 3-pointer from senior Devany West, at the end of the first quarter. But in the second quarter the Bobcats tried to battle back, play- ing better defense, and were able to whittle the deficit back to seven on a pair of Mariah Mundt free throws. But a Winning 3-pointer and a Jesse Miller basket sandwiched a Melissa Beltramo bucket to send the Spartans up 10 at the inter- mission. The Bobcats came out of the break in a zone and the Spartans capitalized, going on an 18-0 run to open the third quarter. Bobcat coach Erika Etchison said the Spartans were able to get off to such a quick start in the third due to Bobcat turnovers and fast-break points. "We stayed in our zone, and Red Bluff shot the lights out," Etchison said. "We switched to a man-to-man defense. They did re- ally well in their man-to-man de- fense, and did not allow any more 3-pointers from Red Bluff." But the damage had been done, Red Bluff was perfect from be- hind the arc in the quarter with Winning, who scored 18 points on BASKETBALL LADY SPARTANS EARN WIN AT HOME Winningscores18pointsasRedBluffgirlsshootdownParadise67-34 LARRYLONG—CONTRIBUTED Red Bluffs Sarah Herrera (11) puts up a shot Wednesday night in a win over Paradise at home. REDBLUFF67,PARADISE34 Up next: Chico at Red Bluff, 7:30p.m. Tuesday. THESCORE Online: For more coverage of Tehama County sports, visit REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/SPORTS. Cota By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter LOSMOLINOS If you ran into Vanesa Cota on campus you'd take her for a quiet, stu- dious, friendly student, but put her on a volleyball court and it's a different story. The 5-foot, 4-inch senior's skills as a set- ter earned her a spot on the Division V All- State Volleyball team, just the second Bull- dog in Los Molinos High School's history to be so honored — the first being former teammate Clarivel Castillo in 2013. "For an individual player, she's got every honor you can get," said coach Chas Konopka. Those honors include being named the Los Molinos Player of the Year for the 2015-16 season, serving as captain of the team, All-Tournament at Fall River and Los Molinos, KHSL Subway Scholar Ath- lete of the week, All-League and MVP of the Five Star Athletic League and playing in the 15th annual North-South All star game, which features the top 24 seniors in the Northern Section, Konopka said. Cota first took to the court as a sixth- grader at Los Molinos Elementary School and volleyball quickly became her sport. She also plays basketball and golf for the Lady Bulldogs. While her team, the No. 1 seed going into the Division V playoffs, was knocked out in the semifinals by No. 5 Durham in a stunner, Cota said the highlight of the season was an Oct. 8 road match against the Liberty Christian Patriots. The Bulldogs took the first set but dropped the next two before winning the fourth to tie it up. In the deciding set, the Bulldogs triumphed 16-14. Cota had 41 assists in the match and 916 on the season. The next closest setter in the Five Star League was Mercy's Ta- sha Pimentel with 565. Cota first played setter on the school's junior varsity team as a freshman, she said. By her sophomore year, 2013, she was promoted to the varsity squad dur- ing a playoff run that would finish with the Bulldogs as section champions. "It has been my pleasure to be her coach and I look forward to watching her play at the next level," Konopka said. Cota said that next level will be either VOLLEYBALL CotanamedtoAll-Stateteam Los Molinos senior has her sights set on next level, will play volleyball in college Staff Reports CORNING The Cardinals boys' team took a home win Tuesday over the West Valley Eagles, 4-2, but the girls' team was shut out 2-0 by the Eagles. Masiel Anaya led the Lady Car- dinals with eight steals, followed by Jasmine Damian with seven and Araceli Flores and Vanessa Aguirre with five each. Nichole Curiel and Anissa Mu- noz each took four shots, three on goal. Goalkeeper Anna Reynolds, a freshman, recorded 12 saves. As of Thursday afternoon, no stats had been posted for the boys' team. The Cardinals (10-3) were scheduled to face the Yreka Min- ers (3-5-3) in Yreka on Thursday evening. The Lady Cardinals (5-6) were scheduled to play the Miners (3-7- 1) in Yreka on Thursday evening. RED BLUFF The Spartans boys' and girls teams both lost home matches Wednesday against the Paradise Bobcats, 2-1 and 1-0, re- spectively. The Lady Spartans were led by Maya Cruz and Kaylynn Gibson, who each took four shots, two on goal, followed by Karissa Mena and Rosy Alfaro with three shots, one on goal, each. Goalkeeper Grace Thornton re- corded six saves. The Lady Spartans (8-6-3) are scheduled to host the Shasta SOCCER Ca rd in al s, Bulldogs take wins at home By John Pye The Associated Press MELBOURNE,AUSTRALIA There's a reason why Lleyton Hewitt could keep tennis fans awake un- til after 4 in the morning, even when he was playing at home, years after winning Grand Slam titles in far-away New York or London. Hewitt contested every, single point. If he was smaller or less powerful than his rival across the net, he countered that by te- naciously chasing, retrieving and grinding opponents down. His relentless intensity and never-give-in attitude had critics bristling when he emerged as a brash, up-and-coming teen wear- ing his cap back-to-front. But they later applauded him when he ma- tured and slightly mellowed into a tennis elder. Hewitt's 20th bid to win the Australian Open ended in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 second-round loss to eighth-seeded David Ferrer on Thursday night, his last singles match as a pro. Typically, it was a feisty affair. He launched a ver- AUSTRALIAN OPEN Hewitt falls in last match as tennis pro COTA PAGE 2 SPARTANS PAGE 2 SOCCER PAGE 2 TENNIS PAGE 2 NBA PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, January 22, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1