SAN FRANCISCO >> Natalie Karlsson visited the city by the bay for what could have been the final high school game of her illustrious career on Wednesday and the four-year varsity veteran was having no part of it as she powered the 16th-seeded Upper Lake Cougars to an upset of No. 1 seed Convent of the Sacred Heart, 58-56, in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division V girls basketball playoffs.
Upper Lake (16-11) will now return to Lake County to play No. 8 seed Clear Lake, a 61-28 winner over Holy Names on Wednesday, in the quarterfinal round on Saturday night in Lakeport. The winner of that game advances to the Division V semifinals next Wednesday.
“Oh my,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said of the big-time stunner, marking the first time a 16th seed from Lake County has ever beaten a No. 1 seed. “We never focused on them being the No. 1 seed. “We saw film of them and they didn’t look like monsters, they looked beatable.”
Karlsson went 16-for-19 from the free-throw line while pushing her career scoring total to 1,794, second on the county’s all-time list.
“Natalie was clutch at the free-throw line,” Smith said. “It was a tightly called game and we needed to make those shots.”
Upper Lake led 16-12 after one quarter and 30-22 by halftime. The Cougars led the entire second half although Sacred Heart (22-5) was able to close to two points in the final seconds. The Cubs never had a shot to tie or take the lead.
“We pretty much had the lead throughout the game,” Smith said. “We were up by 12-14 points in the first half.”
Kejhana Taylor sparked the Cougars early, scoring seven of her nine points in the first quarter. Another Upper Lake post player, Brenna Sanchez, also came through with 10 points.
“We played loose but focused,” Smith said. “We knew if we could get off to a good start the pressure would be on them and that’s what happened.”
While she didn’t score in the game and later left the court with an injury, Ashley Aceves’ play was critical for the Cougars, according to Smith, who said she drew a critical foul at one point that helped keep momentum in Upper Lake’s favor.
Smith said he had a good feeling about the game during the shootaround prior to tip-off.
“I just had a good vibe the whole day,” Smith said.
