UPPER LAKE >> The only howling emanating from the Upper Lake High School gym on Wednesday night was made by a bunch of happy Cougars.
Despite trailing by as many as 10 points twice, including 10-0 to open the game, the Upper Lake High School varsity girls’ basketball team overcame terrible passing at times and streaky shooting to hand the Sonoma Academy Coyotes of Santa Rosa their first North Central League II loss of the season, 49-44.
Sonoma Academy (12-1 league, 16-3 overall) needed a win against Upper Lake (11-2, 21-4) to clinch the outright NCL II championship. Now the Coyotes will have to wait until tonight when they close out their league and regular-season schedule against Technology High School in Rohnert Park. While it’s unlikely the Coyotes will stumble against a 3-10 Technology squad, if they do the Cougars could gain a share of the league title with a win tonight against St. Vincent in Petaluma.
“And I’ve never beaten St. Vincent at their place,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said.
The Cougars’ chances of beating St. Vincent are pretty good if they play the same kind of ferocious and unrelenting defense they brought to the gym on Wednesday. While other parts of Upper Lake’s game appeared and disappeared almost as quick, especially in the first half, the Cougars’ defense was there from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
“Our defense was outstanding,” Smith said.
Steals, blocks and quick flicks of the wrist by Upper Lake defenders that changed the trajectory of Coyotes passes frustrated Sonoma Academy on numerous occasions. The Cougars also beat Sonoma Acadmey players to loose balls, saving many a possession.
Upper Lake senior center Jojo Augustine and junior forward Autum Martinez led the charge.
“Jojo did a nice job of battling for the ball inside,” Smith said. “Autum just never stops playing good defense. She picks up a few fouls and gets concerned about it, but it’s fine with me. She doesn’t let up.”
Despite an awful first half passing the ball, the Cougars found themselves down only 24-18 at halftime — it easily could have been 34-18 but no one Coyote other senior Savannah Stoughton (22 points) had much success solving Upper Lake’s defense.
Upper Lake didn’t take its first lead until Skylar Orozco hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter, wiping out a 40-35 Sonoma Academy lead to open the period. The Cougars never trailed after that. LaShaye Taylor, who had a big four-point play in the third quarter to cut a 31-26 deficit to 31-30, converted a three-point play to make it 44-40. She added two free throws seconds later and her shot from underneath the basket with 2:06 remaining pushed the Cougars’ advantage to 48-41.
Held to only two points in the first half, Taylor finished with a team-leading 15.
Orozco made one of two free throws with 1:12 remaining to give the Cougars their biggest lead of the night at 49-41. The Coyotes were able to inch closer in the final seconds but Upper Lake was never in any trouble.
“Jojo, Taylor and Orozco … all three filled their roles and just did what they needed to do,” Smith said.
While the second half played out to Upper Lake’s liking in front of an energized crowd similar to the ones that cheered on the great Cougars teams of the early 1990s, the first half was a different story.
Upper Lake trailed 10-0 early and 24-14 with 3:08 left in the first half. With the game about to slip away from the Cougars, Martinez powered her way inside for two big points. On Upper Lake’s next possession, Orozco drew a shooting foul and buried both free throws to make it 24-18.
Smith said he didn’t need to yell and scream to regain the Cougars’ focus at halftime.
“The biggest thing at half was that I told them I believed in them more than they did,” Smith said. “They responded to that. I told them they just had to settle down, be calm and cut down on their mistakes. That’s what they did.”
The Cougars scored the first six points of the second half to tie the game at 24, but Sonoma Academy answered with a 7-0 run to make it 31-24. That’s when Augustine came up with a huge offensive rebound of teammate Natalie Karlsson’s missed 3-pointer and scored. Before the Coyotes knew what had hit them, Taylor buried a long 3-pointer and drew a foul on the play. She calmly hit the free throw to make it 31-30 with 3:52 left in the period. Sonoma Academy made a late push at quarter’s end, opening up a five-point lead on Lauren Reed’s 3-pointer from deep in the corner with two seconds left.
Karlsson joined Taylor in double figures with 14 points, Orozco added nine and Augustine had seven.
Stoughton entered play eight points shy of 1,000 for her career, a milestone she reached with nine points in the first quarter. Career points 999 and 1,000 came on a drive to the basket with 1:50 left in the opening period. She also was fouled on the play and hit the free throw for point No. 1,001.
