FORT BRAGG — Sometimes progress isn’t measured in wins, but in how well you play against strong competition. In that case, the Clear Lake Cardinals are moving in the right direction after falling 45-34 to Trinity High School of Weaverville on Thursday in final-round girls play at the Fort Bragg Tournament.
Trinity, now 11-3 on the season, had a tough time shaking Clear Lake (4-7).
“We did not win, but we competed,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said. “We had a lot of good looks at the basket and ran some good offenses. We just didn’t shoot the ball well … we’re shooting 25 to 30 percent (from the field) for the season.”
However, Clear Lake’s defense turned in another strong effort, limiting Trinity to 19 first-half points.
“We play good defense, so we should be in every game we play,” Psalmonds said with an eye toward the Cardinals’ North Central League I schedule, which begins in earnest Monday with a road game against St. Helena.
Clear Lake trailed Trinity 19-11 at halftime and 35-23 through three quarters.
Amber Smart, the lone sophomore on the Cardinals’ roster, and senior Sydney Howe scored eight points apiece to lead Clear Lake.
“This was a really good tournament of Amber,” Psalmonds said. “Both her and Rubi (Ford) made some great strides. We’ve moved Rubi to point guard and it’s really helped us out.”
Montana Wells and Zoey Pepper finished with six points apiece in the loss.
“I think we’re getting better and we’ll be able to make some noise (in league),” Psalmonds said.
