LOWER LAKE >> Senior guard Aleia Milano scored 31 points and Vanessa Hughes added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Lower Lake Trojans dominated the El Molino Lions 72-25 in the season opener for both of these varsity girls basketball teams on Tuesday night in Lower Lake.
Lower Lake (1-0) jumped all over a young El Molino squad in the first quarter, outscoring the Lions 31-4.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano said of his mostly veteran club. “We just really couldn’t miss.”
The Trojans had a 50-9 lead by halftime.
“El Molino is a young team, they have five sophomore starters,” Milano said.
Jackie Cooper added eight points and three steals in the Lower Lake win, Katelyn Farrell had seven points, and Samantha Caires finished with five points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Milano said he expects Lower Lake to compete for another North Central League I title this season after tying Kelseyville for last year’s championship.
“I feel like it’s going to be four or five teams going for first,” Milano said. “Kelseyville is still good, Cloverdale is going to be really good, and Clear Lake has a lot of talent with all of its seniors and juniors.”
Lower Lake’s junior varsity squad also won its season opener, beating El Molino 46-16 behind 16 points from Heather Felder.
Lower Lake’s varsity returns to action Nov. 30 against McKinleyville in the opening round of the Arcata Tournament. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.
Game notes: Aleia Milano, now in her fourth season at the varsity level, opened the 2017-18 campaign with 1,145 career points. Her team-leading 31 points on Tuesday move her up to 21st place on the list of the county’s all-time scoring leaders.
