LAKE COUNTY >> Call it a great opportunity to make some history. The Kelseyville and Middletown girls’ basketball teams certainly have that chance tonight when they take the court in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs.
Kelseyville (23-5), co-champion out of the North Central League I, travels to Richmond to play No. 1 seed Salesian (23-5) at Salesian High School. Tip-off is 6:30 p.m.
A little closer to home, Middletown (23-6), co-champion out of the NCL I, heads over the hill to Santa Rosa to play No. 2 seed Cardinal Newman (25-4) at 7 p.m. Cardinal Newman ran the table in the North Bay League this season, going 14-0.
While the odds certainly appear to be stacked against Lake County’s teams in their quest to reach the sectional semifinals, Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said on Wednesday night after a 59-43 home victory over Fortuna that his seventh-seeded Mustangs embrace the challenge.
“The mountain gets bigger for us but we’ll try to shock the world,” Bazzano said. “These kids don’t get intimidated by anybody and I can guarantee you we’ll play 32 minutes of basketball.”
If the Mustangs come up short, it will mark the final game in the fine career of senior center Ashlyn Welton, who enters play with career totals of 1,312 points and 996 rebounds.
Kelseyville coach Jim Hale, who watched his No. 13 Knights upend No. 4 seed Del Norte 50-45 in a first-round game at Crescent City, said the Knights hope to have junior guard Riley Goff (ankle injury) back in the starting lineup or at least back on their bench. The second-leading scorer for the Knights this season has missed each of the team’s last three games, including the playoff win over Del Norte.
“She’ still a little bit hobbled, but she might play,” Hale said following the win over Del Norte.
The Knights have only one senior in their starting lineup, center Heidy Cano, and return the bulk of their roster intact next season.
The Kelseyville-Salesian winner draws the winner of Arcata-Piedmont in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Middletown-Cardinal winner advances to the semifinals against the St. Mary’s-Marin Catholic winner, also on Wednesday.
