SANTA ROSA >> Sonoma Academy’s press defense sparked a 14-0 run in the second quarter and the Coyotes rallied to beat the Upper Lake Cougars 66-54 in a key North Central League II varsity girls’ basketball contest on Tuesday night in Santa Rosa.
Upper Lake (2-1 league, 12-3 overall) held a 12-point lead midway through the second quarter when guard Natalie Karlsson (11 points) picked up her third foul and left the game. Sonoma Academy took advantage to pull in front of Upper Lake 28-27 by halftime.
“They went to a press and with Natalie out of the game, that kind of killed us,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said.
The Coyotes warmed up from the field in the third quarter and scored 24 points, including four 3-pointers, to make it a 52-42 game by the end of the period.
“It was too much of a barrage for us to overcome,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said. “We responded well to difficult situations early in the season but not so well tonight.”
Two exceptions were Jojo Augustine, who repsonded with a team-high 19 points as well as nine rebounds, seven steals and four blocks, and Autum Martinez, who overcame a couple of injuries sustained during the game to score eight points.
“She (Martinez) played her heart out and Jojo was awesome the whole game,” Smith said.
