LOWER LAKE — Sara Sanders hit two clutch free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining to seal Lower Lake”s 41-37 victory over Durham in the winner”s semifinal round of the Durham Tournament on Friday night in Durham.
“It was a barnburner against the hometown team,” Lower Lake coach Jim Salmina said. “We had to match intensity with intensity.”
Lower Lake trailed 29-27 entering a fourth quarter that went back and forth before April White put the Trojans (4-1) ahead to stay with a basket and free throw following a foul on the play.
Lower Lake will play either Hoopa or Willows in tonight”s championship game at 7:30 p.m. Hoopa beat Lower Lake in the finals a year ago.
“It”s going to be a fun night,” Salmina said.
White”s 21 points powered the Trojans and Danacka Whittington added 11, including three 3-pointers.
“White had a night of nights,” Salmina said. “She also had 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists.
“Whittington played a solid game again,” Salmina added.
Although she scored just two points off the bench, Camry Richardson played nearly the entire fourth quarter for the Trojans.
“She brought a lot off the bench between steals and rebounds,” Salmina said.
In other girls” tournament action Friday:
Healdsburg 46, Middletown 28
At Healdsburg, the host Healdsburg Greyhounds beat the Middletown Mustangs in the winner”s semifinals of the Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Middletown (1-3) scored just six points in the first half and trailed 24-6 at the intermission.
“We played better in the second half, but it was a case of too little too late,” Middletown coach Tony Hart said.
“They (Greyhounds) play a real good match-up zone and they also pressured us, which got us out of sync,” Hart added. “We couldn”t get anything going.”
Kristiana Outen”s seven points led Middletown and Amber Ramponi had six.
Middletown shot just 11-for-59 from the field and committed 22 turnovers.
“They didn”t give us anything easy and we backed off. We were a little bit shy and the more we backed off, the more they came at us,” Hart said of the Greyhounds.
Middletown plays Willits at 3 p.m. today in the third-place game.
Clear Lake 59, Rio Vista 31
At St. Helena, the Clear Lake Cardinals scored 28 points in the first quarter, hitting four 3-pointers in the period, and never looked back against Rio Vista.
“We actually came out pretty aggressive,” Clear Lake coach Kory Reynolds said. “We were moving the ball good and being patient while looking for open shots.”
Clear Lake led 28-4 after one period and 44-11 at halftime.
Kim Asbury”s 10 points paced the Cardinals (3-2), Coree Alexander and Jessica Asbury added nine points, and Kelcie Reynolds had eight.
Clear Lake plays El Molino in the consolation championship game today at 3:30 p.m.
