KELSEYVILLE >> Now that they’ve reached the top of the North Central League I varsity girls’ basketball standings, the Kelseyville Knights have to figure out a way to stay there, which can be more daunting a task than getting there.
“Yep, now comes the hard part,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said after the undefeated Knights moved into sole possession of first place in the league standings with a 55-42 victory over previously unbeaten and defending league champion Middletown on Friday night in Kelseyville.
Kelseyville (6-0 league, 15-3 overall) won its seventh straight game while also snapping Middletown’s 16-game league winning streak. Before Friday, the Knights also were the last team to beat Middletown in a home game early in the 2015 league race.
“We really made them work hard to get the ball inside to their posts because we know their posts are dangerous,” Hale said of Middletown’s Ashlyn Welton and Abby Aden. “I think (Heidy) Cano and (Carli) Mendonca did a great job not giving them any easy passes inside.”
“They were the better team tonight, no doubt about it,” Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said. “We got down early in the first quarter and chipped away, chipped away, chipped away to get it down to three at halftime and were feeling pretty good about it.”
Kelseyville led 24-21 at the intermission.
“The first couple of possessions went OK in the second half, but then all of a sudden they were able to get into the open court and we didn’t do a very good job of getting back on defense. They had three or four layups in a row and it was a 10-point game.
“All the credit to them, there’s no other way to put it,” Bazzano said.
The two teams meet again on Feb. 12 in Middletown. Until then, it’s up to the Knights to hold serve against the remainder of the NCL I. They close out the first half of their league schedule on Tuesday against winless St. Helena.
Middletown (5-1, 13-5) not only watched its long winning streak come to an end, but a six-game winning streak this season as well.
“There’s still a long way to go, eight games,” Bazzano said. “We just have to get back to work Tuesday against Willits.”
Middletown hosts Willits (2-4) to close out the first half of its league schedule, then it’s on to the second half.
Riley Golf led the Knights with 19 points, 12 of those in the first quarter as Kelseyville moved out to a 15-7 lead. She needs 35 more points to reach 1,000 for her career. Goff had plenty of support from her teammates, beginning with freshman Payton Conrad, who came through with 17 points, including an 8-for-13 night from the free-throw line.
“She played some huge minutes for us and hit some big shots and a lot of free throws,” Hale said.
Welton and Makenzi Smith led Middletown with 11 points and Meghan Carlisle added nine, all on 3-pointers. Cano had nine points for Kelseyville.
Kelseyville also beat Middletown 44-33 in the junior varsity game.
