MIDDLETOWN — A halftime pep talk seemed to do the trick on Tuesday night as the Middletown Mustangs played their best single quarter of the season while beating the Piner Prospectors 51-37 in non-league varsity girls basketball action at Middletown.
Taking advantage of a handful of Middletown mistakes late in the second quarter, Piner rallied for a 23-20 halftime lead.
“We began to take control of the game in the second quarter, but we had some mental lapses right there near the end that allowed Piner to go in front,” Middletown head coach Anthony Bazzano said. “We had a heartfelt talk at halftime and came out with a lot more energy and better effort in the second half.”
Getting contributions from several players, including eight points from Abbey Brown, the Mustangs outscored the Prospectors 25-10 in the third quarter to open up a 45-33 lead.
“We put some pressure on them and were able to get out on the run a little bit,” Bazzano said. “When our defensive is active, it opens up some things for us.”
The Mustangs also had one of their better shooting performances from the field. Five different players combined to sink eight 3-pointers, including three by Brown, who led the team with 11 points.
Balanced scoring also helped. Besides Brown, Emily Santiago finished with nine points, Alyssa Hart added eight more, Ellie Bazzano and Kassi Agapoff each had seven, and Hanna Morris had six.
Middletown again struggled from the free-throw line, going 9-for-20.
“We’re working on that,” Bazzano said.
Middletown (2-5) has four games remaining before it opens its North Central League I schedule Jan. 2 in Cloverdale. The Mustangs are home Friday to play San Rafael, then they hit the road Dec. 27-29 for the West Coast Jamboree. Middletown will compete in the Amethyst Division at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo. The Mustangs open against Oceana High School of Pacifica on Dec. 27 at noon.
In junior varsity action, Olivia Kucer and Ella Rockwell scored nine points apiece as Middletown played a strong second half to defeat Piner 43-26. The Mustangs (5-2) broke the game open with a 14-5 third quarter and had as much as a 20-point lead in the second half.
“We were able to run our offense,” Middletown coach Andy Brown said of the final two quarters. “We made too many fouls in the first half that kept them in the game.”
Jessica Pollack had seven points for the Mustangs.
“The whole bench got to play tonight,” Brown said.
The Mustangs are home Friday to play San Rafael at 5:30 p.m.
In other non-league girls action Tuesday:
Laytonville 39, Clear Lake 34
At Lakeport, the Laytonville Warriors beat the Clear Lake Cardinals to improve to 9-1 on the season.
In a game that was close throughout, the Cardinals (3-8) had a difficult time generating much offense outside of Kortnie Reynolds’ 13 points. Clear Lake’s defense did hold Laytonville to a season-low point total, their previous low being 46.
Shaelyn McIntire finished with six points and Joy Ingalls added five as Clear Lake (3-8) lost for the eighth time in its last nine games.
The Cardinals aren’t scheduled to play another game until their Jan. 2 league opener against the Kelseyville Knights at Lakeport.
