CLOVERDALE — Defending North Central League I champion Cloverdale scored 44 points in the first half en route to a 71-46 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans in varsity girls basketball action Tuesday night in Cloverdale.
“They’re really, really good and well coached,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said of the Eagles. Both teams brought 1-0 league records into the game, but Cloverdale (2-0 league, 10-2 overall) took control early on against the Trojans (1-1, 5-9). It was 22-9 after one quarter and 44-15 at halftime.
Tubbs said the game was loosely officiated, which helped the Eagles on their homecourt.
“It seems like they’re untouchable over there,” he said.
Kayla Doud’s 13 points paced the Trojans while Sam Hughes added 11. Doud had a pair of 3-pointers.
The Trojans travel to Willits on Friday.
In the junior varsity game, Lower Lake beat Cloverdale 49-28 to improve to 2-0 in league play. Following a 25-point effort in the Trojans’ league-opening win over Fort Bragg on Friday, Terilyn Jo Jermany came back with 27 points against the Eagles. Kyleigh Mock added nine points.
In other NCL I action Tuesday:
Clear Lake 40, Willits 28
At Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals outscored Willits 14-1 in the fourth quarter to rally past a Wolverines club that took a 28-26 lead into the final period.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said of the Cardinals’ rough outing. “We couldn’t hit water if we fell out of the boat. We couldn’t buy a basket, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. It was just one of those nights.”
Rylee Mix helped rally the Cardinals (2-0, 7-4) with a 15-point performance.
“She was really steady all night long,” Psalmonds said.
Clear Lake led 21-14 at halftime before Willits rallied in front with a 14-5 third quarter.
Shaelyn McIntire had seven points in the victory and Sierra Bruch had six.
In JV action, Clear Lake beat Willits 38-27 in a game that wasn’t that close. The Cardinals, now 2-0 in league play, carried a 36-16 lead into the fourth quarter.
Stella Hill’s 14 points and another 13 from Abby Mertle powered the Cardinals. Rubi Ford added nine points.
“Stella rebounded and shot well,” Clear Lake assistant coach Jeff Mertle said.
Clear Lake travels to Middletown on Friday, a four-game set that begins with the JV girls game at 3:30 p.m.
Fort Bragg 42, Kelseyville 37
At Kelseyville, trying to even their record after a hard-fought loss last week to Middletown in their league opener, the Kelseyville Knights dropped a close one to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves.
Kelseyville (0-2, 3-10) outscored Fort Bragg over the final three quarters but couldn’t make up for a 15-9 first-quarter deficit.
“It was like neck and neck the whole time,” Kelseyville head coach Skyler Olsen said. “If our pressure defense worked a little better we might have won it.”
Fort Bragg led 22-20 at the half and 31-27 through three quarters.
Allison Bryant’s 17 points, including three 3-pointers, led the Knights.
“She’s kind of our go-to 3-point shooter,” Olsen said. “She did a nice job rebounding, too.”
MJ Boardman and Maddy Barker each had seven points for Kelseyville and Ryann Taylor added five.
Kelseyville did win the JV game as Kaylei Davis went off for 20 points in the Knights’ 45-40 victory. Larue Furlani added 10 points.
The Knights, now 1-1 in league play, rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit.
Middletown 55, St. Helena 22
At St. Helena, Middletown rolled past St. Helena to improve to 2-0 in league and 7-5 overall. The Mustangs return home Friday to host the 2-0 Clear Lake Cardinals.
Middletown led the entire way against St. Helena (0-2) and had a 29-8 lead by halftime. The Saints were never closer than 16 points in the second half.
“Everyone got a fair share of playing time,” said Middletown head coach Andy Brown, who emptied his bench early in the game.
Paige Astley’s 14 points led the Mustangs while Sophie Kucer and Jessica Pollack added nine apiece. Abbey Brown had seven.
Brown also had high praise for sophomore guard Georgia Guerrero, who came off the bench to score five points.
“Georgia played strong on both ends of the court,” Brown said.
Brown and Olivia Kucer each had five rebounds. Kucer also had six points.
Middletown won the JV game 50-9.
