LOWER LAKE >> Aleia Milano became Lower Lake High School’s all-time girls scoring leader on Wednesday night as the Trojans defeated the St. Helena Saints 81-24 in the North Central League I opener for both of these varsit basketball teams at Lower Lake.
Milano, a senior guard, finished with 30 points as the Trojans, who shared the league title with Kelseyville last season, began defense of their title in impressive fashion. Milano entered play needing 14 points to break the old Lower Lake girls record of 1,461 by Michelle Day, a star for the Trojans in the late 1980s, and she passed Day while scoring on a layup midway through the second quarter. Milano also moved past former Clear Lake star Ryan Richardson on Lake County’s list of career scoring leaders. She is currently seventh with 1,478 points.
“She’s a hard worker and deserves whatever she gets,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano said of his daughter’s school scoring record.
Lower Lake started a bit on the slow side despite what the final score indicates.
“We missed five layups in the first quarter and we didn’t come out with a lot of intensity, but we picked it up from then on. From the middle of the first quarter we played really well,” Milano said.
Lower Lake had the game well in hand with a 23-4 lead after the opening period. It was 42-11 by halftime and 66-17 after three quarters.
Vanessa Hughes also came up big for the Trojans with 20 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds. Marnae Johnson added 10 points and Samantha Caires finished with eight points, four steals and three assists. Elizabeth Ingalls played limited minutes but still had nine rebounds.
Lower Lake hits the road on Friday to play Willits.
