UPPER LAKE >> There won’t be an undefeated champion in the North Central League II varsity girls basketball race in 2017. The Upper Lake Cougars took care of that on Tuesday by beating the Sonoma Academy Coyotes 50-35 at Upper Lake High School.
The Cougars (3-1 league, 10-7 overall) are now tied for the league lead with defending champion Sonoma Academy and Rincon Valley Christian, each with one league loss apiece.
“We haven’t had one of these this season,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said of a win against a top-notch opponent. “We’ve beaten the teams we should have beat but we’ve always come up short against these types of teams.”
Upper Lake and Sonoma Academy spent the first quarter going back and forth. Oddly enough it might have been a technical foul called against Cougars senior guard Natalie Karlsson that changed the momentum in the game.
Karlsson scored two of her team-leading 25 points late in the first quarter to cut Sonoma Academy’s lead to 12-10 but she thought she had been fouled on her layup, complained to the official and was whistled for a technical. The Coyotes made one of the two technical free throws and scored on their ensuing possession to go up 15-10 by quarter’s end.
Smith said Karlsson thought she had been slapped on the arm while making the layup and deserved to go to the free-throw line.
“She was a little too demonstrative (while complaining to the official),” Smith said. “I took her out of the game for a bit and we talked about it. I told her she has to expect that because they (Coyotes) are going to play her tight on defense.”
Karlsson, who faced double- and even triple-teams during the game, answered with a 14-point second quarter as the Cougars outscored the Coyotes 19-4 in the period.
“She was focused,” Smith said.
And Karlsson wasn’t the only one. Brenna Sanchez scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“Brenna’s play was huge,” Smith said.
Isabel Rorabaugh also came up big for the Cougars with a team-best 12 rebounds, nine on the defensive boards, and four points.
“She really played well,” Smith said. “The defense played really tough. We limited them to one shot, got the rebound and were in our transition game.”
Upper Lake’s defense allowed a total of 10 points between the second and third quarters. The Cougars led 29-19 at halftime and 38-25 through three quarters.
The Cougars are back in action Friday when they travel to Santa Rosa to play Roseland University Prep.
There was no junior varsity girls game on Tuesday.
