KELSEYVILLE — Kelseyville may have had the homecourt advantage on Friday against the Lower Lake Trojans, but you can forgive coach Jim Salmina if he felt perfectly at home on the Knights” floor.
Why not?
Salmina, now in his second season with the Lower Lake girls” basketball team, spent nine seasons between 1998 and 2007 coaching the Knights to six 20-win seasons, three league championships and seven trips to the North Coast Section playoffs. His goals haven”t changed since relocating 14 miles to the south on Highway 29, only the team name on and the color of the shirt he now wears.
Salmina watched his Lower Lake squad roll to a 56-34 victory in North Central League I North action. The Trojans improved to 2-0 in league and 12-7 overall with their fifth straight win. They”re the only girls” team in the county with a winning record and likely the only one headed to postseason competition.
“You feel good, but it is a little weird,” Salmina said of playing at the gym he called home for a decade. “I won a lot of games here.”
More to the point, Salmina enjoyed what he was watching on Friday night, namely the Trojans going about their business of winning another game. Veronica Wilder scored 17 of her team-leading 19 points in the second half as Lower Lake pulled away after going to halftime leading 20-13.
“We played such good defense in the first half, but I was thinking it would be nice if we added some offense,” Salmina said.
And the Knights did, outscoring Kelseyville 19-9 in the third period.
Jonesha Beasley had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Lower Lake and Kelsie Shoffeitt added 12 points and seven rebounds.
“They treated me real well,” Salmina said of the Kelseyville fans. “It”s nothing personal, I”m trying to win games just like I did when I coached here. It”s just the roles are reversed now.”
Mary Brown scored a season-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Knights. She also had seven rebounds.
“She had a great game,” coach Deanna Goff said.
Jennifer Green added five points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Knights, who lost their leading scorer on the season, Liz Berry, in the first half. Berry fouled out with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Her replacement, Mandy Spitzer, added four points and five rebounds.
“She had to come in and play a position she hasn”t played before,” Goff said of Spitzer, “but she did a real nice job. And Liz was cheering her on from the bench.”
Goff said the Knights played a solid first half before the Trojans took control of the game.
“They”re good, they”re quick, they”re aggressive,” Goff added of the Trojans. “Our biggest thing was the turnovers.”
