CLOVERDALE — Playing in a gym that’s tough to win in under the best of circumstances, the Middletown Mustangs ran into a buzz saw that is junior forward Tehya Bird on Wednesday night in the North Central League I opener for both of these varsity girls basketball teams.
Bird scored 19 of Cloverdale’s 21 points in the third quarter as the Eagles pulled away for a 55-35 victory in their home gym. The three-sport standout finished with 30 points overall as Cloverdale, last year’s co-champion along with Clear Lake, began defense of its league title.
“We let her get downhill on us in that third quarter,” Middletown head coach Anthony Bazzano said. “We let her get out in front of us and get to the rim. If she gets to the rim she’s either going to finish or get to the free-throw line. We’ll do some things different when we face her at our place (on Jan. 22).”
Until Bird blew up in their faces in the third quarter, the Mustangs were making a game of it and trailed only 22-19 at halftime.
Sophie Kucer’s nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, led Middletown (0-1 league, 5-7 overall). Kassi Agapoff added seven points.
In junior varsity action, Middletown scored a season-high 60 points to beat the host Eagles 60-48 behind 15 points each from Brie Alves and Bella Dubois and 11 from Olivia Kucer.
“Cloverdale averages about 50 points a game,” Middletown coach Andy Brown said. “That’s incredible for a junior varsity team.”
Middletown built a 33-21 halftime lead.
“The girls had a solid offensive effort, especially in the first half,” Brown said.
The post defense of the Mustangs’ Dubois and Ella Rockwell also figured prominently in the victory as they limited Cloverdale’s top scorer to just nine points.
“They did a great job,” Brown said. “It was a solid game for all of us.”
Both Middletown teams are back in action Friday at St. Helena, part of a four-game set.
In other girls basketball action Wednesday:
Kelseyville 45, Clear Lake 40
At Lakeport, Clear Lake rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to tie Kelseyville late in the fourth quarter, but the Knights scored the game’s final five points to win the NCL I opener for both teams.
“Kaleigh Davis hit a couple of clutch shots for us and Gracie Davidson played well down the stretch and really stepped up,” Kelseyville head coach Jim Hale said. “The girls came through.”
Kelseyville (1-0, 8-4) appeared on its way to a much easier win with a 16-9 lead after one quarter and a 25-15 halftime advantage. Clear Lake (0-1, 3-9) began to rally in the third quarter and trailed only 32-28 entering the final period.
“We kind of hit a wall in that third quarter, which is nothing new for us,” Hale said. “We need to put four solid quarters of basketball together and we’re struggling to do that. “We start and finish well, but it seems like the middle parts kill us.”
Davidson and Davis led the Knights with 15 and 11 points, respectively, while Payton Conrad finished with nine points, eight assists and nine steals. The senior’s defense stood out all night long, according to Hale.
“It was like there were three of her on defense,” Hale said of Conrad. “She was everywhere.”
Kortnie Reynolds’ 15 points, including three 3-pointers, powered the Cardinals and Shaelyn McIntire added seven points.
Kelseyville won without making a single 3-pointer.
The Knights face a key test home Friday against Cloverdale (1-0) while Clear Lake is on the road against Fort Bragg.
In JV action Wednesday, Kelseyville scored in the final seconds of regulation to tie it, but Clear Lake outscored the Knights 13-8 in the overtime period to pull out the victory.
Trailing 31-29 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Kelseyville went for the win as MJ Boardman launched a 3-pointer that was off the mark. Teammate Lucina Kaulapai came down with the rebound and scored to tie the game.
Boardman led the Knights (0-1, 4-2) with 21 points and Kasandra Villalobos added seven. Clear Lake scoring wasn’t reported.
