LAKE COUNTY — When the North Coast Section released its basketball playoff brackets on Sunday in Divisions I-V, there wasn”t a Lake County team to be found, the first time that”s happened in at least a quarter of a century.
Kelseyville High School”s varsity girls” team, the owner of the best record in the county at 20-8, failed to land an at-large berth in a very competitive Division IV bracket. The Knights finished third behind Fort Bragg and Willits in the North Central League I North standings this season but went on to beat both teams last week in the NCL I postseason tournament, giving first-year coach Caitlin Andrus some hope that her squad might land a spot in the 12-team sectional field.
But it didn”t happen.
Fort Bragg, the NCL I North regular-season champion, was the only North team to reach the playoffs. The Timberwolves (17-8) were seeded No. 12 in the Division IV field and will host No. 5 seed St. Mary”s (22-5) Wednesday night. Fort Bragg is hosting the game because it is a league champion.
The top four seeds are Justin-Siena (24-2) of Napa, Moreau Catholic (22-4) of Hayward, St. Patrick/St. Vincent (22-4) of Vallejo, and Piedmont (21-5).
In the Division IV boys” bracket, NCL I North champion Fort Bragg (21-9) was seeded 11th and will host No. 6 Piedmont (14-13) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The top four seeds are St. Mary”s (27-1) of Berkeley, John F. Kennedy (24-3) of Richmond, Salesian (20-8) of Richmond, and St. Joseph (15-13) of Alameda.
In the 16-team Division V boys” bracket, NCL I South champion and No. 4 seed Cloverdale (23-4) hosts No. 13 Hoopa Valley (12-9) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a first-round game and No. 10 St. Vincent of Petaluma (20-7), the NCL I South runner-up, hits the road to play International (22-6) at 8 p.m.
The top three seeds are Branson (23-3) of Ross, St. Elizabeth (21-6) of Oakland, and Berean Christian (22-6) of Walnut Creek.
In the 16-team Division V girls” bracket, NCL I South champion and No. 4 seed Cloverdale (23-4) hosts No. 13 Marin Academy (14-14) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and No. 14 St. Vincent of Petaluma (16-10) travels to Emeryville to play No. 3 Emery (21-6) at 7:30 p.m.
The top three seeds are Branson (21-7) of Ross, Head-Royce (24-5) of Oakland, and Emery (21-6) of Emeryville.
The Kelseyville girls and Lower Lake boys (13-12) were the only two Lake County varsity teams to finish with winning records in 2007-08.
