LAKEPORT >> And then the third quarter happened.
The Clear Lake Cardinals took a 22-21 lead with them into the locker room at halftime against the Kelseyville Knights and were probably feeling pretty good about it. It’s a safe bet that wasn’t the mood in the visiting locker room.
The Knights did something about it, too, outscoring the Cardinals 19-3 in the third quarter en route to a 51-34 victory in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action on Tuesday night at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport.
Kelseyville (4-1 league, 15-2 overall) handed Clear Lake (3-1, 9-6) its first league loss in the process and knocked the Cardinals out of a first-place tie with Lower Lake (4-0).
“The first half we were kind of like playing in quicksand,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said.
Hale said senior center Carli Mendonca helped turn momentum in the Knights’ favor in the third quarter when she led the Kelseyville break and scored eight of her 10 points on the night.
“She was releasing down the floor, getting out and running,” Hale said. “We did a good job getting her the ball in the post.”
Kelseyville’s defense also kicked in during the final two quarters, limiting the Cardinals to just 12 points.
“Our defense was pretty tough in the second half and that made it easier,” Hale added of the Knights’ second-half surge.
Having Haleigh Meyer back in the lineup also helped, according to Hale. She returned from an injury to score six points.
Alma Perez led the Knights with 15 points, pushing her career total to 943. Payton Conrad added eight points and Bib Hamner had seven.
For the Cardinals, Camille Donald led the way with 15 points and Kortnie Reynolds added 10. Both players had two 3-pointers apiece.
In the junior varsity game Tuesday, Kelseyville beat Clear Lake 45-41 in a contest that wasn’t decided until the final seconds.
Grace Duty and Allison Bryant scored 11 points apiece to pace the Knights, now 4-1 in league play and 10-4 overall. Kat Brown added eight points and Paige Bour had seven.
Kelseyville’s teams return to action Friday in Middletown while Clear Lake’s teams travel to Willits.
