LAKEPORT — Three-point field goals by Katherine Geary and Heaven’lee Loans Arrow sealed Upper Lake Middle School’s 38-30 victory over Terrace School in the A-division championship game of the Lake County Junior High Athletic League girls basketball tournament on Saturday in Lakeport.
Taylar Minnis led the Wildcats, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, with 11 points while Loans Arrow added seven points and Madison Noble had six.
Geary, Loans Arrow and Madeline Young earned All-League honors for the Wildcats, who went 8-1 in league play and 15-4 overall under the direction of coaches Raelene Cromwell and Angelina Arroyo. It was their fourth game against Terrace School this season and their second victory against the second-seeded Vikings.
“Going into Saturday’s game we had two of our starters sick but they wanted to play,” Cromwell said of Loans Arrow and Young.
Young took a charge underneath the basket near the end of the first half that knocked her out of the game until the middle of the of the fourth quarter. Lupyomia Duncan-Monlo and Noble helped fill the void at the point guard position as the Wildcats nursed an 18-16 lead into halftime.
“At halftime I let the girls know that this was in their hands and they needed to push themselves for the win. And they did,” Cromwell said.
Paris Klier’s rebounding in the second half helped Upper Lake limit Terrace’s chances on offense while Young, who returned to the floor, did a good job handling the ball for the Wildcats, according to Cromwell.
“Our defense from Madeline, Madison and Nathaly (Velasco) was awesome,” Cromwell said. “Heaven had multiple blocks on the inside that made them (Vikings) nervous to want to shoot on the inside.”
Cromwell said Upper Lake’s success this season was no surprise.
“We knew the girls had it in them to win league,” she said. “We have always told our girls to play with their heart. This is an exceptional group of young ladies. Upper Lake hasn’t had a solid group in awhile. We’re excited to see what these girls do in the next four years.”
Upper Lake’s championship roster consisted of Young, Loans Arrow, Noble, Minnis, Velsaco, Duncan-Monlo, Klier, Geary, Tristin Rhodes, Tatum Salas, Georgia Schmit, Jordan Johnson, Emilee Dutcher, Karla Martin, Vanessa Lopez and Paige Pruitt.
