PEBBLE BEACH >> The long van ride to Stevenson High School, which is located a pitching wedge away Pebble Beach Golf Links, didn’t help the Kelseyville Knights on Thursday although they quickly recovered to rout Aspire Langston Hughes Academy of Stockton 55-13 in the opening round of the Stevenson Tournament.
“We had heavy legs from the van ride, almost like jet lag,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said of his team’s 9-7 lead after one quarter.
The remainder of the game belonged to the Lady Knights, beginning with a 26-1 second quarter. Payton Conrad scored nine of her team-leading 15 points in the period while Brisa Villa came off the bench to score six more.
“We picked it up and started running like we do,” Hale said.
The Knights (5-0) had a 49-10 lead after three quarters.
“Our bench played almost the entire fourth quarter,” Hale said.
Carli Mendonca contributed a double-double to the Knights’ win with 10 points and 13 rebounds, nine of those on the offensive glass. Alma Perez added another eight points.
Kelseyville draws Woodside Priory of Portola Valley in the semifinals today at 3:30 p.m. Woodside Priory reached the NorCal Division V quarterfinals last season. In fact, it was Woodside Priory that knocked Cloverdale out of the NorCal playoffs with a 58-42 win.
“They are big,” Hale said of the Panthers.
