UPPER LAKE >> There”s nothing wrong with 16-12, but it”s not where the Upper Lake Cougars want to be, not this season anyway.
After better than a decade of losing and even abysmal play at the Northshore High School, a girls” basketball program that once ruled the small-school ranks, not only in Lake County but also in the North Central League I and well beyond, is back on the way up. As far as head coach Mike Smith is concerned, last season”s 16-12 mark was simply a downpayment on what could be a 20-win-plus campaign for the Cougars in 2014-15.
Upper Lake takes its first step toward that 20-win goal on Friday night in Covelo against non-league opponent Round Valley High School. The four-game set begins with the junior varsity girls at 3:30 p.m. followed by the JV boys at 5 p.m., the varsity girls at 6:30 p.m., and the varsity boys at 8 p.m. Apart from being the season opener for Upper Lake”s teams, it”s also the first action of the season for Lake County basketball.
Upper Lake”s varsity girls return a rock-solid core of veterans led by Jojo Augustine, LaShaye Taylor, Skylar Orozco, Autum Martinez and Natalie Karlsson. With seven seniors on a roster of 12, the Cougars” time to win is now.
After opening against Round Valley, the Knights get 10 days off to fine tune things for their home opener Dec. 2 against Kelseyville. They”ll compete in the Princeton Tournament beginning Dec. 5, play a non-league home game against Clear Lake on Dec. 9, and open play in the Potter Valley Tournament on Dec. 10. The Chernoh Classic at Lower Lake follows on Jan. 1, by which time the Cougars should have a pretty good idea where they stand before their North Central League II debut Jan. 7 at Tomales.
While the Upper Lake varsity girls are a veteran team led by a veteran coach, the Upper Lake varsity boys are rebuilding under first-year coach Justin Dutcher, who inherits the remnants of a 5-21 team that graduated all of its scoring punch from last season. What figured to be the team”s best returning player, Stevie Diaz, transferred to Clear Lake.
Round Valley is one of the more winnable games on the Cougars” non-league schedule.
