LOWER LAKE — It was the type of performance you would expect from two teams fighting for a league championship and from teams each with a 1,000-point scorer in their starting lineups.
Behind 29 points from Alma Perez and 19 from Haleigh Meyer, the Kelseyville Knights beat the Lower Lake Trojans 69-66 in a North Central League I varsity girls basketball game with plenty of title implications on Saturday in Lower Lake.
Lower Lake (9-2 league, 16-7) began the day tied with Clear Lake for first place in the league standings, one game ahead of Kelseyville (9-2, 20-3). Kelseyville’s win combined with Clear Lake’s 53-35 win on Saturday in Fort Bragg leaves the Cardinals (10-1) alone in first place atop the NCL I standings, one game in front of both Kelseyville and Lower Lake. All three teams have three games remaining and two of Clear Lake’s games are at Kelseyville (on Tuesday) and at Lower Lake (on Feb. 14).
While the Knights outscored the Trojans 24-18 in the fourth quarter to pull out the narrow victory, Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said the second quarter was the key to the game for the Knights even though they were outscored 14-10 in the period.
“Payton (Conrad) picked up her third foul with about five minutes left and Tymeka Green filled in at point and gave us some huge minutes,” Hale said. “We went into halftime still leading by three (27-24) and feeling pretty good about it. I thought that was very big.”
Conrad was able to return in the second half and didn’t pick up another foul until late in the fourth quarter. While she only finished with seven points, Hale said his sophomore guard had the Kelseyville offense running about as well as it can.
“She controlled things out there very well,” Hale said.
“The game was close all the way,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano said. “Both teams played to win the whole time. I feel like Kelseyville is a really, really good team. They execute, they’ve got playmakers, the shoot the ball well. They do everything well.”
And you can add shoot free throws to that list. Kelseyville went 20-for-28 at the line compared to Lower Lake’s 5-for-12.
Hale said the biggest difference between the first league meeting between the two teams, a 56-54 Lower Lake win at Kelseyville on Jan. 13, was the play of Haleigh Meyer, who finished with 19 points.
“Haleigh stepped up,” Hale said.
Hale also gave high marks to Carli Mendonca for her rebounding on the defensive boards down the stretch.
“Carli was cleaning up, getting every rebound,” Hale said.
Aleia Milano, two days removed from scoring her 1,000th career point in a win over Fort Bragg, led the Trojans with 25 points while teammate Vanessa Hughes added 19. Claire Alderson finished with eight.
“Give Lower Lake a lot of credit,” Hale said. “They’re a good ballclub too and well coached.”
Looking at what’s left for both teams, the Trojans are at Willits on Tuesday, at Cloverdale on Friday and home against Clear Lake on Feb. 14.
“We’re still in it,” Milano said. “We still control our own destiny as far as at least tying for first.”
Kelseyville’s final three games are all at home — vs. Clear Lake on Tuesday, Middletown on Friday and St. Helena on Feb. 14. If they win all three they’ll secure at least a share of the title.
“I feel like that’s a big advantage for us, but who knows?” Hale said of closing things out at home. “Welcome to the NCL I girls division.”
Game notes: Lower Lake’s Milano and Kelseyville’s Perez share one thing in common besides being members of the 1,000-point club. Both players got that 1,000th point in home wins over Fort Bragg this season. Perez reached the milestone on Jan. 27 … Though Saturday’s action Perez has 1,058 points to Milano’s 1,036 … Milano had five 3-pointers and Hughes four against Kelseyville. Perez had three and Meyer thi two … Five active Lake County players have more than 1,000 career points. Besides Milano and Perez, Lower Lake’s Hokulani Wickard (1,026), Kelseyville’s Kyle Ellis (1,408) and Upper Lake’s Natalie Karlsson (1,654) continue to climb the county’s all-time scoring list.
