LOWER LAKE >> Since opening their league schedule earlier this month with two easy wins, the Lower Lake Trojans haven’t had much go right for them in the four games that have followed. One of those was Friday night when the Kelseyville Knights emerged with a 57-45 victory in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action at Lower Lake.
Lower Lake (3-3, 12-5) has now dropped three of its last four league contests, all of them to league title contenders – Clear Lake, Cloverdale and now Kelseyville.
Kelseyville (4-2, 13-5) on the other hand finds itself headed in the opposite direction, having won four straight since losing hard-fought games to Clear Lake and Cloverdale to open league play.
“We are feeling pretty good right now,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said. “We’ve got our work cut out the next eight games.”
“Jimmy just does a good job and has them playing really good basketball,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano added. “I thought we did everything we needed to, but two of our girls had a real rough shooting night.”
In a game tied at 34 through three quarters, the Knights used a 23-11 fourth quarter to pull out the victory. And while the Trojans’ defense did a great job shutting Kelseyville’s Payton Conrad during the first three quarters, the junior guard scored nine of her 10 points — seven of them free throws — in the final period to seal the victory.
“Our game plan was to slow down Conrad and Aleia (Milano) did a pretty good job of that,” Milano said of his daughter’s play. “Aleia and Payton guarded each other and they both did a good job. Aleia just hit a few more tough shots.”
What the Trojans couldn’t see coming was the kind of night post Grace Davidson would have for the Knights. The junior led the way with 23 points and 15 rebounds. She helped Kelseyville control the boards down the stretch, a key element in the win, according to Hale.
“Defensively in the fourth quarter we were getting every rebound and not giving them any extra opportunities,” Hale said. “She was very focused and very good tonight. She took a big step forward.”
Five of Davidson’s rebounds were on the offensive boards and most of them were putback baskets.
Milano’s 18 points led the Trojans while Vanessa Hughes added 14.
Both teams finish up the first half of league play on Tuesday. Kelseyville visits Willits while Lower Lake travels to Fort Bragg.
Lower Lake did win the junior varsity game 45-43 behind 17 points from Heather Felder and nine apiece from Samantha Hughes and Lynzi Milano. Taylor Ryann’s 15 points powered the Knights while Dianna Pfann added 10 and M.J. Boardman seven.
In other girls action Friday:
Middletown 44, Willits 38
At Middletown, the Middletown Mustangs held off Willits although the final minutes turned out to be a bit more exciting than planned, according to Middletown head coach Anthony Bazzano.
“The outcome was never really in question but we didn’t handle the last couple of minutes very well,” Bazzano said. “We put them at the free-throw line over and over and over, which is something we seem to do, and we had some silly turnovers there at the end.”
On a more positive note, the Mustangs turned in a second straight solid effort on offense despite some tough man-to-man Willits defense.
“We’re scoring a few more points now and that’s a good thing,” Bazzano said. “The way we play defense that should put us in a position to win and we did win tonight.”
The Mustangs (2-4, 9-9) also welcomed Alyssa Hart back to the lineup after the junior guard missed three weeks with a knee injury.
“She hit a big 3-pointer for us in the fourth quarter,” Bazzano said. “We let her loose tonight but it’s going to take her some time to get back into game shape.”
Kassi Agapoff’s 11 points and four steals paced the Mustangs, Emily Santiago added nine points and eight rebounds, Ellie Bazzano chipped in eight points, and Amy Gattoni had six points and team-high 11 rebounds.
Middletown led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter before Willits rallied to make a game of it.
In JV action, Middletown snapped a three-game losing streak behind 12 points from Sophie Kucer, 10 from Baylee Dymer and seven apiece from Annabel Pyzer and Emily Young.
The Mustangs (4-2) faced a Wolverines squad that suited up only five players.
“The starters came out and played pretty well, did a number on those guys right off the bat,” Middletown coach Andy Brown said. “Everybody got to play.”
