LINCOLN — One night after hitting a game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds against El Camino, Lower Lake High School senior Alisha Jones came through in the clutch again.
Scoring six points in the final 75 seconds, including a game-tying 3-pointer, Jones helped lift the Trojans to a 44-39 victory over Yuba City in the second round of the Lincoln Invitational on Saturday morning at Lincoln High School. The Trojans (4-6) close out tournament play Monday against Whitney High School, a late replacement for previously scheduled Del Campo, at 3:30 p.m.
“She’s not one who wants to take accolades, but she’s one of our seniors and she came through again,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said of Jones, who scored six of her nine points in the fourth quarter.
Jones helped put the game away by hitting the first of two free throws with only seconds remaining. She rebounded her own miss on the second shot and scored on a layup with 2.6 seconds left.
Sam Hughes (9 points) hit three of four free pressure-packed free throws down the stretch as Lower Lake secured its second straight victory in the tournament.
Despite an 8:30 a.m. start, the Trojans raced out to a 14-1 lead during a 14-3 first quarter.
“For a 8:30 a.m start after two hours on the road, the kids jumped on them early,” Tubbs said of the Trojans.
Yuba City woke up in the second quarter while Lower Lake played what Tubbs called “a selfish quarter of basketball,” one during which they the Trojans struggled mightily on defense, their strength.
“We weren’t getting back and they were getting some pretty easy baskets,” Tubbs said.
Yuba City cut Lower Lake’s lead to 22-18 by halftime and 28-26 through three quarters. A back-and-forth final period followed.
Kayla Doud (13 points) led the Trojans in scoring for the second game in a row, a good sign for a team that needs a bit more offensive punch to compliment its stingy defense, according to Tubbs.
“When she’s on that gives us a third (scoring) option after Sam and Shelby (Sapeta),” Tubbs said. Sapeta added six points in the win.
Following Monday’s tournament finale against Whitney, the Trojans return home Thursday to play Colusa in a non-league game, their final warmup before hosting Fort Bragg in the North Central League I opener for both teams on Friday.
