UPPER LAKE — Yessica Ayala sank two mid-range jumpers down the stretch and Jackie Lovrin”s free throw with four seconds remaining sealed Upper Lake”s 39-35 victory over the St. Vincent Mustangs in a North Central League I South varsity girls” basketball game on Tuesday in Upper Lake.
“Ayala hit a couple of shots from about 15 or 16 feet to give us a lift,” Upper Lake coach Donnie Meri said.
Lovrin also pulled down an offensive rebound and scored during another crucial sequence in the fourth quarter, according to Meri.
Upper Lake (1-1 South, 6-12 overall) led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but St. Vincent (0-2) got within three in the final seconds.
Katy DeVries” nine points paced Upper Lake. Lovrin and Taryn Re finished with six apiece.
In other girls” action Tuesday:
Fort Bragg 43, Lower Lake 39
At Fort Bragg, Lower Lake missed four crucial free throws down the stretch, part of a dismal 4-for-20 effort from the line, and lost to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in NCL I North action.
It was the league opener for Lower Lake (0-1, 5-13). Fort Bragg improved to 1-1 in the North standings behind 13 points from Katie Bruce.
“We worked hard to get to the line for those 20 shots and we made just four,” Lower Lake coach Andrew Carpenter said. “That boils down to the difference.”
Lower Lake had a 37-36 lead with three minutes left in the game but scored just two points the rest of the way. Darlena White scored eight of her team-leading 19 points in the final period in an attempt to rally the Trojans form a 34-29 deficit after three quarters.
“She played a very solid game and took charge there in the fourth quarter,” Carpenter said of White, who also pulled down 11 rebounds and had two steals.
Willits 50, Kelseyville 41
At Willits, the Willits Wolverines capitalized on Kelseyville”s mistakes time and time again to beat the Knights in NCL I North action.
“Too many turnovers,” Kelseyville coach Caitlin Andrus said. “We didn”t take care of the ball and Willits took advantage.”
Skyler Olsen led Kelseyville (1-1, 11-8) with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, but no other Knight had more than five points.
Willits is 1-1 in the North standings.
Cloverdale 67, Clear Lake 24
At Cloverdale, the host Eagles trailed 12-11 after one quarter but scored 21 points in each of the next two quarters to rout the Clear Lake Cardinals in NCL I South play.
“Cloverdale just really stepped up their game after that first quarter,” Clear Lake coach Jennifer Goff said. “Their in-your-face defense made it hard for us and I think it got into our heads.”
Cloverdale (2-0 South) led 32-15 at halftime and 53-20 after three quarters.”
Kaila Sterbank”s 13 points paced the Cardinals, who were making their league debut. They are 6-9 overall.
Boys” basketball
St. Vincent 78, Upper Lake 48
At Petaluma, the Upper Lake defense couldn”t stop the St. Vincent Mustangs in NCL I South action.
“We probably played the worst defense since the Lake County Tournament (in mid-December),” Upper Lake coach Forrest Stogner said.
The loss snapped a season-best four-game winning streak for the Cougars, now 1-1 in the South and 8-8 overall.
Kyle Coleman scored 15 points, including his 800th career point, to lead Upper Lake. Nick Palomo added 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Fort Bragg 65, Lower Lake 46
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans took to the floor for the first time in their new gym and ran into a Fort Bragg buzz saw in the first half. The Timberwolves made 17 field goals in the first two quarters for a 41-18 halftime lead in the NCL I North game.
“We played no defense in the first half,” Lower Lake coach Marty Udy said.
Lower Lake (0-1, 4-14) battled back to a 12-point deficit with four minutes left in the game.
“I decided to make it a foul game at that point and Fort Bragg hit a bunch of free throws,” Udy said.
The Timberwolves went 10-for-14 at the line in the final period.
Lower Lake played much better in the second half, according to Udy.
“We played with some desire, had some execution and looked like we wanted to play in the second half,” Udy said. “That wasn”t the case in the first half.”
David Clark scored 16 points and Paul Bailey had 12 to lead the Trojans. Forrest Davis, out all season with a knee injury, scored nine points in his first game back.
Cloverdale 89, Clear Lake 49
At Lakeport, Cloverdale outscored Clear Lake 46-21 in the second half in NCL I South action.
The Cardinals, who were making their league debut, stayed close for a half but couldn”t match Cloverdale”s firepower.
Ryan Richardson”s 23 points powered Clear Lake (0-1, 11-7) and Noel McCormack had a season-best 12.
“We were playing with them in the first quarter, but the kids lost focus after that,” Clear Lake coach Glenn Wienke said. “We have to make them (Eagles) work on defense and making only one pass and putting the ball up isn”t going to do it.”
Wienke credited Seth Glazier with a solid defensive outing.
“He had to guard (Robbie) Rowland and I thought he did a pretty good job,” Wienke said.
Pacific Union 57, Middletown 44
At Angwin, the Middle-town Mustangs played themselves into a 28-9 halftime hole and couldn”t recover in a non-league loss to Pacific Union Christian.
PUC”s star center, Tyler Thesman, led the way with 35 points. Only two other PUC players scored in the game.
Middletown (5-11) crept to within four points of PUC midway through the fourth quarter.
Dustin Peterson led the Mustangs with 14 points and John Hays and Zach Strickler added nine apiece.
