CLOVERDALE — Middletown’s players had some of the best seats in the house to witness Tehya Bird 2,000th career point Friday night as the Cloverdale Eagles beat the visiting Mustangs 59-37 in a first-place showdown of North Central League I varsity girls basketball leaders.
Needing a win to move into a first-place tie with Cloverdale (12-0 league, 20-2 overall), Middletown (10-2, 15-8) instead watched the Eagles clinch a tie for the league championship. If Cloverdale wins either of its two remaining games or Middletown loses one of its final two, the Eagles will clinch their second straight undisputed NCL I crown. They went 14-0 last season.
“It wasn’t pretty at the end,” Middletown head coach Andy Brown said of only the Mustangs’ second league loss this season — both to the Eagles.
Middletown battled hard and stayed close to Cloverdale most of the night. The Eagles took a 37-31 lead into the final period and blew the game open with a 22-6 fourth quarter.
Bird, a four-year varsity veteran, reached the 2,000-point milestone with 4:18 left in the first quarter when she scored from right underneath the basket following a missed 3-pointer by a teammate. After a brief scramble for the ball, Bird grabbed it, turned and banked a shot off the glass. The game was then stopped to commemorate the moment as Bird received the game ball as well as congratulations from her teammates and Middletown’s players. She finished with 33 points.
“She’s too strong and too powerful for us,” Brown said. “She was able to find the seams in our zone. At one point we couldn’t play defense against her without getting a foul.”
Bird scored 17 points in the first half and 16 more in the second.
“We tried everything,” Brown said. “They handled our zone, our full-court press.”
Middletown’s offense didn’t fare much better, according to Brown.
“They made us look silly on offense at times,” Brown added. “That’s the best defense we’ve been against. They’ve got a good coach (Rick Berry) and he knows his stuff.”
Brianna Alves led the Mustangs with 11 points, Paige Astley added 10 and Bella Dubois had six.
In junior varsity action, Middletown beat Cloverdale 35-30 behind 12 points from Skylar Williams.
Middletown’s teams are home Tuesday against Willits before wrapping up their league schedules Thursday in Lower Lake.
In other girls action Friday:
Kelseyville 64, Lower Lake 53
At Kelseyville, a 21-9 second quarter made all the difference for the Kelseyville Knights in their win over the Lower Lake Trojans.
Sam Carter and Allison Bryant both had double-doubles as the Knights improved to 7-5 in league and 10-13 overall. Carter finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Bryant added 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
“They were getting good looks,” Kelseyville head coach Skyler Olsen said of the shot selection by her players in the second quarter. “We were moving the ball, making good passes and playing smart.”
Carter scored six points and Paloma Ortiz had all five of her points in the period.
“Carter was finishing, getting rebounds and getting physical,” Kelseyville head coach Skyler Olsen said.
Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said the Trojans (6-6, 10-14) couldn’t overcome a cold shooting night.
“We were 14-for-59 on our twos and 5-for-22 on our 3s. You can’t win like that,” Tubbs added. “We missed too many layups and putbacks.”
Not all of the Trojans had a bad night. Sam Hughes led the team with 18 points and continues to impress her coach.
“Hughes was solid for us,” Tubbs said. “That girl is all heart. She played great for us tonight. She’s been rock-solid all season.”
Kim Bautista added nine points while Kayla Doud and Shelby Sapeta each had eight for the Trojans.
Maddy Barker had nine points for Kelseyville. Bryant had three of her team’s four 3-pointers.
In the JV game, Lower Lake played a box-and-one defense to shut down Kelseyville’s Kaylei Davis and the strategy worked as the Trojans beat the Knights 51-37 behind 18 points apiece from Kyleigh Mock and Kyra Womack.
“Naylei Santana played great defense tonight,” Lower Lake coach Jessica Wiley said.
Kelseyville scoring wasn’t reported.
Clear Lake 40, Fort Bragg 22
At Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals improved to 7-5 in league and 12-9 overall behind 13 points from Rylee Mix — 10 of those in the first quarter — and another 12 from Joy Ingalls.
“I thought Joy and Rylee played well offensively and defensively,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said. “They picked up their games.”
Clear Lake’s defense clamped down hard on Fort Bragg in the second half, limiting the Timberwolves to seven points.
“They looked good, they’re starting to really concentrate on their defensive play,” Psalmonds said of the Cardinals. “We’re trying to get better every game.”
Clear Lake led 24-15 at halftime and 34-20 after three quarters.
The Cardinals close out their league schedule next week with a Tuesday game at Kelseyville and a Thursday home game against Cloverdale.
“Maybe we can make a little bit of a run in the playoffs,” Psalmonds said with an eye toward the North Coast Section playoffs, which begin the week of Feb. 17.
In the JV game, undefeated Clear Lake improved to 12-0 in the NCL I standings with a 39-29 victory over Fort Bragg. Rubi Ford powered the Cardinals with 13 points and Abby Mertle added 11.
