SANTA ROSA — The Upper Lake Cougars were on the verge of pulling off a pretty big upset Thursday night when the Sonoma Academy Coyotes rallied for a 34-30 victory in North Central League II varsity girls basketball action at Santa Rosa.
Sonoma Academy (4-1 league, 16-7 overall) had a baker’s dozen worth of points through three quarters and trailed 21-13 entering the final period against the Cougars (2-5, 9-13).
And then someone hit the light switch.
“They hit everything,” Upper Lake coach Nick Williamson said of a Sonoma Academy squad that went from ice-cold to red-hot in a matter of a seconds. “They hit four 3s in a row and they had at least five 3s in the fourth quarter.”
Upper Lake appeared on its way to the upset after outscoring Sonoma Academy 12-3 in the third quarter.
“They were panicking,” Williamson said of the reaction of the Sonoma Academy players between quarters. “And just like that they were on fire. Their record shows they are a good team. They really earned it.”
Upper Lake’s offense disappeared down the stretch, according to Williamson.
“The last three minutes we couldn’t get anything to fall,” he said.
Freshman Karlee Zimmerschied led the Cougars with 10 points and Alana Sanchez finished with eight. Kaila Willard added five more.
Upper Lake returns to Santa Rosa on Friday to play Roseland University Prep at 6:30 p.m.
