MIDDLETOWN — Locked in a 46-all tie through three quarters, the Middletown Mustangs stopped scoring late in the final period and fell 62-53 to the Maria Carrillo Pumas of Santa Rosa in non-league varsity girls basketball action Thursday night at Middletown.
“It kind of slipped away from us,” Middletown head coach Andy Brown said. “We were down by only five with three minutes to go. Our offense kind of went dead.”
In a game that featured a handful of lead changes, Middletown led 16-11 after one quarter only to watch Maria Carrillo push in front 29-28 by halftime.
“It was the most physical game we’ve played so far,” Brown said. “And we had a couple of girls sick tonight, so we were a little short on the bench.”
Abbey Brown’s 14 points led the Mustangs (3-4) and Olivia Kucer added 10 points and eight rebounds. Jessica Pollack had eight points and Sophie Kucer seven.
Maria Carrillo senior guard Abigail Garcia scored all 15 of her points on 3-pointers.
“They were well-contested shots, too,” Brown said. “I guess she was just having a good night.”
Middletown did win the junior varsity game 45-43 on a Kamryn Atkins shot at the buzzer.
The varsity Mustangs return to action Dec. 27 against El Molino in the West Coast Jamboree at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo. Tip-off is 2 p.m. Middletown plays again on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 at the same location against opponents to be determined.
