LAKE COUNTY — It’s not every day a high school player scores career point No. 2,000 in high school basketball, but that’s exactly what happened nearly a year ago today when Cloverdale’s Tehya Bird reached that milestone in a 59-37 win over the Middletown Mustangs at Cloverdale.
Until the COVID-19-delayed 2020-21 sports season starts, the Lake County Record-Bee will take a look back at the local sports happenings of a year ago and the teams and athletes who were making the headlines.
Girls basketball
The game was a big deal not only because of Bird’s assault on the 2,000-point mark, but also because Middletown (10-2) needed a win to pull into a first-place tie with Cloverdale (12-2) atop the North Central League I standings.
Instead, the Mustangs watched the Eagles clinch a tie for the league championship. Along the way, Bird, who ended up with 33 points, scored the 200th of her career by putting back a missed 3-pointer by a teammate with 4:18 left in the third quarter. After winning a tussle for the rebound, Bird banked a shot off the glass from right underneath the basket.
“She’s too strong and too powerful for us,” Middletown head coach Andy 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.”
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.
“It wasn’t pretty at the end,” Brown said of only the Mustangs’ second league loss — both to the Eagles.
Bird, a four-year varsity veteran, was honored during a brief game stoppage following her historic basket. She received the game ball as well as congratulations from her teammates and Middletown’s players. Bird scored 17 points in the first half and 16 more in the second.
“We tried everything,” Brown said of attempts by the Middletown defense to slow down Bird and the Eagles. “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 and he knows his stuff.”
Brianna Alves led the Mustangs with 11 points, Paige Astley added 10 and Bella Dubois had six.
In other NCL I varsity girls action nearly a year ago today:
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.”
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.
