LAKEPORT >> Holding serve is what the Clear Lake Cardinals have in mind after beating the Middletown Mustangs 52-35 on Tuesday night in a North Central League I varsity girls basketball game that closes out the first half of league play for both clubs.
Coming off its only league loss to date, a 49-45 setback to the Cloverdale Eagles (7-0) on Friday night in Cloverdale, Clear Lake (6-1 league, 15-3 overall) bounced back into the win column behind a defense that allowed just seven points in the first half and a balanced scoring attack that featured 11 points each from Valerie Hutton and Corin Alakszay, 10 points apiece from Kortnie Reynolds and Kiana Richardson, and eight points from Camille Donald.
If the Cardinals can avoid another loss until they meet Cloverdale again — on Feb. 13 in Lakeport — they will be no worse than one game off the pace set by the Eagles. Of course, Cloverdale could drop one along the way before Feb. 13, which would be just fine with Clear Lake coach Kory Reynolds and the rest of the Cardinals.
“I’m really happy with the defense overall tonight,” Reynolds said. “We also moved the ball well and ran our offense really well.”
Clear Lake had as much as a 30-point lead before Middletown (2-5, which received 12 points from Kassi Agapoff and 11 from Alyssa Hart, closed to within 15 in the fourth quarter.
It was the opening period that set the tone for the game as Clear Lake shut out Middletown 18-0.
“We came out pretty intense,” Reynolds said.
Hutton scored eight of her 11 in the first quarter.
“It’s an impossible uphill battle,” Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said of facing a 18-0 deficit on the road against one of the league’s top teams. “The realization is they were ready to go and we weren’t. We played much better after the first quarter, but it was too late.”
The Cardinals begin the second half of league play Friday at home against Kelseyville (5-2). Middletown is on the road against league leader Cloverdale.
In junior varsity action Tuesday, Clear Lake rallied from a 25-18 halftime deficit to beat Middletown 43-32.
“We had a really good first half offensively,” Middletown coach Andy Brown said. “But they kind of went flat on me in the second half. We had a ton of turnovers.”
Annabel Pyzer and Olivia Kucer scored seven points apiece for Middletown (4-3). Brianna Alves added five points. Clear Lake scoring wasn’t reported.
In other girls action Tuesday:
Kelseyville 75, Willits 40
At Willits, the Kelseyville Knights made it five straight league wins by getting production from all over the court against the Willits Wolverintes.
“We played some solid defense and on offense we’re figuring out where to look and when to look,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said of a balanced attack that featured 38 points from his guards and 37 from his posts.
“We’re starting to get a lot of production from our post players, which is what we need,” Hale said.
Kelseyville (5-2, 14-5) had the game well in hand by halftime with a 32-13 lead. Payton Conrad led the Knights with a team-high 20 points and eight assists while Grace Davidson added 17 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Bib Hamner had 12 points and Brisa Villa seven.
The Knights begin the second half of their league schedule Friday night against Clear Lake in Lakeport.
In JV action, Kelseyville received 14 points each from Ryann Taylor and Lily Nowlin in a 59-28 victory over Willits. The Knights built a 30-10 halftime lead while improving their league record to 3-4.
Fort Bragg 33, Lower Lake 31
At Fort Bragg, the Lower Lake Trojans scored just 10 points in the second half and were upset by the Fort Bragg Timberwolves to close out the first half of league play.
“We’re just not playing well right now,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano said. “We’ve got a lot of talent on this team and were underachieving … and it’s my fault.”
Lower Lake (3-4, 12-6) took a 21-13 lead into halftime only to be outscored 20-10 in the second half by Kelseyville.
Tomales 54, Upper Lake 44
At Tomales, the Upper Lake Cougars had another slow start and lost to the Tomales Braves, who led 17-9 after one quarter and 28-17 at halftime.
“We’re really focused on getting better starts,” Upper Lake co-coach Mike Smith said.
Tomales sophomore guard Isabel Sartori burned the Upper Lake defense for 11 points in the first quarter. The Cougars adjusted their defense and held Sartori to eight points the rest of the game.
“They had some other players step up,” Smith said.
Brenna Sanchez and Katlyn Minnis led Upper Lake (3-5, 9-9). Sanchez finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Minnis added nine points and 12 rebounds.
“They did a great job on the inside,” Smith said of two posts.
Tomales also won the JV game, beating Upper Lake 37-24. Mallory Henry’s seven points led the Cougars while Molly McCabe had six.
“A good overall effort, but we could not finish at the rim,” Upper Lake coach Nick Williamson said.
