HEALDSBURG — While most of Lake County’s basketball teams are still weeks away from playing their first game of the season, the Lower Lake High School varsity girls basketball squad, with only a handful of practices under its belt, fell 65-16 to the Healdsburg Greyhounds in the 2022-23 opener for both clubs Saturday afternoon at Smith Robinson Gym.
Even Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs questioned his team’s mega-early start against a much more seasoned Healdsburg squad that had Lower Lake beat in every conceivable area – inside, outside, ballhandling, defense.
“They (Greyhounds) like to schedule us early and today was just a preseason whooping,” Tubbs said. “This is the last time I’m going this early. I have players who just got through with volleyball. We don’t have our legs underneath us yet and it showed. We’re still working on rotations to see who works best with who. The intensity of our practices isn’t there yet and has to improve. We’ll grow from this, but it’s going to take some time.”
Coming off a 17-9 campaign last season, the Greyhounds were more than a match for the Trojans and led from the first shot of the game – a 3-pointer. While Lower Lake briefly tied it at 3-3 on a Tiahna Tubbs 3-pointer, the ‘Hounds promptly kicked it into gear and had a 21-3 lead before Tubbs scored again on a steal and layup with 1:52 left in the quarter to make it 21-5.
Working the ball inside and outside with some precision passing and running the floor with ease as Lower Lake labored to keep up, Healdsburg outscored the Trojans 18-0 in the second quarter for a 43-5 halftime lead. Poor passing by Lower Lake and physical defensive play by the Greyhounds had the Trojans struggling to get off any type of shot.
Lower Lake fared a bit better in the third quarter, getting a field goal inside from Rebecca Theodorou, a mid-range jumper from Cynthia Onate, and a 3-pointer from Izabella Salazar late in the quarter to make it 53-12.
Ayla Ales added a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter for Lower Lake’s final basket of the game.
“Everything was there for them,” Tubbs said of the Greyhounds’ performance, which included 16 points from Allie Epinoza, 13 from Hailey Webb, 12 from Itzel Ortiz and nine from Maddie Wagner. Tubbs’ six points led Lower Lake.
One thing working in Lower Lake’s favor moving forward from last season’s 7-14 squad is team chemistry, according to Tubbs.
“The girls like each other,” he said.
Lower Lake was back in action Monday againt Summit Tamalpais at Richmond.
In junior varsity action Saturday, Lower Lake beat Healdsburg 26-8.
