UPPER LAKE >> The Pilots of St. Joseph Notre Dame High School of Alameda made a brief stopover on Tuesday night at Upper Lake High School, just long enough to smack the Cougars 80-33 in non-league varsity girls’ basketball action.
St. Joseph Notre Dame, among the top Division V teams in the North Coast Section, improved to 9-1 with its lopsided victory, one that ended with a running clock after the Pilots pushed their lead to 40-plus points in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.
“They were such a blur I can’t even tell you what they did,” Upper Lake head coach Mike Smith said of the Pilots.
Smith isn’t kidding. The Pilots push the ball up and down the floor at an accelerated rate, much to fast for the mostly young and inexperienced Cougars, who suffered a fifth straight loss.
Upper Lake’s best offensive weapon, junior guard Natalie Karlsson, had trouble even getting off a shot against the Pilots’ swarming defense, which is to say they were swarming all over Karlsson from opening tip to final buzzer. She finished with a season-low nine points, including two 3-pointers.
“I don’t even think she took one (a 3-pointer) until the second half,” Smith said of Karlsson. “It’s the most pressure she’s seen all year.”
St. Joseph, which plays in the same league as Kennedy and Salesian high schools, has abundant talent in its starting lineup and on its bench. Ayesa Kearns, a senior forward who handles the ball well enough to be a point guard, scored from all over the court. She finished with 15 points that were accumulated in less than one half of playing time. Sophomore center Kayla Nunn led the Pilots with 17 points despite playing less than half the game.
A third Pilot, Vanessa Vonnegut, came off the bench to add 15 points.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame reserves maintained the fast-paced tempo on offense during their considerable playing time.
It’s part of a two-game Lake County swing for the Pilots, who return to action today at Kelseyville against the 8-2 Knights.
As for Upper Lake, the Cougars are off until Jan. 5 when they travel to Esparto. Smith said he hopes facing elevated competition in the preseason will toughen up the squad prior to the start of North Central League II play early next month.
Brenna Sanchez finished with eight points in the loss and Kejhana Taylor had seven.
St. Joseph Notre Dame won the junior varsity game 43-10.
