LOWER LAKE — Tehya Bird is one of those generational athletes and the Cloverdale High School senior three-sport star is about to accomplish something few players in the Redwood Empire have ever done, score 2,000 career points.
Bird took to the floor Wednesday night in Lower Lake needing 54 points to reach the milestone and she scored 20 in a 58-40 victory over the Trojans in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action. The victory keeps Cloverdale (9-0 league, 17-2 overall) atop the league standings with five games remaining. Lower Lake falls to 4-5 and 8-13.
“That girls makes her living at the free-throw line,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said of Bird, who is already committed to the University of Oregon on a softball scholarship. “She likes driving to the basket and drawing fouls. She is one hell of a basketball player.”
Bird could top 2,000 at home Friday night with a big game against Kelseyville. After that, the Eagles hit the road Tuesday to play winless St. Helena.
Lower Lake held a 11-10 lead after one quarter but foul trouble forced the Trojans to put Shelby Sapeta (team-leading 12 points) on the bench in the second quarter and the Eagles made the most of it, outscoring the Trojans 20-7 in the quarter for a 30-18 halftime lead.
“We were making our switches on defense in the first quarter and the defensive energy was great,” Tubbs said. That wasn’t the case in the second quarter when the Trojans were forced to go to their bench.
“You can’t get lost with good teams and they are a good team,” Tubbs said. “We were losing their shooters and bang, bang, bang, it’s over.”
Point guard Catherine Driver also gave the Eagles a big lift with 17 points.
“That girl can shoot the ball,” Tubbs said.
Sam Hughes had 11 points for the Trojans and Kayla Doud added seven. Sapeta had three of Lower Lake’s four 3-pointers.
Lower Lake is home Friday to play Willits (1-8).
In the junior varsity game, Lower Lake beat Cloverdale 55-49 in overtime behind 19 points from Kyleigh Mock, 18 from Kyra Womack and 11 points and 15 rebounds from Terilyn Jo Jermany.
In other action Wednesday:
Middletown 44, St. Helena 15
At St. Helena, the Middletown Mustangs had a low-stress outing against the winless St. Helena Saints (0-9), allowing Middletown head coach Andy Brown to empty his bench early.
“We spread around the scoring and the minutes,” Brown said. “We went and took care of business.”
Middletown (8-1, 13-7) broke the game wide open with a 20-5 third quarter that pushed the Mustangs’ lead to 37-13.
Brown said the Saints, who suited up only seven players, gave it everything they had.
“The were gritty, getting after it,” Brown said.
Bella Dubois and Bri Alves finished with nine points apiece while Sophie Kucer, Abbey Brown and Paige Astley added eight each.
Middletown won the JV game 63-29 behind 20 points from Jaidyn Brown and 12 each from Brooklyn Huffman and Ella Rockwell.
The Mustangs hit the road Friday to play Clear Lake, part of a four-game set that begins with the JV girls game at 3:30 p.m.
Kelseyville 58, Fort Bragg 53 (2 OT)
At Kelseyville, after having a four-game winning streak snapped Monday in a 39-38 loss to Middletown, the Kelseyville Knights jumped back into the win column by pulling out a double-overtime thriller against the Fort Bragg Timberwolves
Kelseyville (5-4, 8-12) went 6-for-9 from the free-throw line in the second overtime to secure the win. The game was tied 43-all at the end of regulation and 47-all after the first overtime.
Allison Bryant’s 13 points and 10 rebounds powered the Knights. Maddy Barker led the the team with 14 points, Sam Carter added 12 points and seven rebounds, and Ryann Taylor had five points and nine rebounds.
Fort Bragg won the JV game 35-31. Larue Furlani’s 16 points led the Knights and Kaylei Davis had 12.
Clear Lake 44, Willits 26
At Willits, led by Joy Ingalls, the Clear Lake Cardinals improved to 6-3 in league play and 11-7 overall with a victory over the Willits Wolverines.
“I thought it was her best game of the year,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said of Ingalls, who led the Cardinals with 17 points, 13 rebounds and six steals. “She looked really athletic out there.”
The Cardinals outscored the Wolverines 20-4 in the second quarter to open up a commanding 30-8 halftime lead.
“We played good tonight,” Psalmonds said.
Rylee Mix added 10 points, including three 3-pointers, and Sydney Howe had nine points.
In the JV game, Clear Lake beat Willits 30-13 to improve to 9-0 in league action and 15-3 overall. The Cardinals came within a banked-in 3-pointer of shutting out the Wolverines in the first half. They led 13-0 after one quarter and 23-3 at halftime.
Abby Mertle’s 13 points paced Clear Lake and Mikayla Fifield added eight.
Clear Lake’s teams are home Friday to play Middletown, part of a four-game set between the two schools. JV girls action tips off at 3:30 p.m.
JV girls basketball
Upper Lake 67, Round Valley 38
Upper Lake 55, Potter Valley 21
At Upper Lake, Upper Lake’s JV girls squad played a non-league doubleheader, beating both Round Valley and Potter Valley to raise its season record to 14-4.
In the first game against Round Valley, Taylar Minnis led the way with 21 points, Lupy Monlo-Duncan added 16 and Mona Campanero had eight.
Upper Lake coach Angelina Arroyo praised Minnis’ rebounding, Monlo-Duncan’s passing, Tristin Rhodes’ ball movement, Karla Martin’s hustle and Maddie Hayenga’s overall play.
In the second game against Potter Valley, Monlo-Duncan and Taylor led the way with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Rhodes chipped in seven more and Nobalie Snow and Georgia Schmidt had six apiece.
Standouts for the Cougars were Nathaly Velasco on defense and Campanero on the boards, according to Arroyo, who also was pleased with the overall play of Martin and Hayenga.
“We were very aggressive (on defense) and played with complete confidence,” Arroyo said.
