HEALDSBURG — Scoring nearly all their points from the paint Friday night, the Middletown Mustangs roared past the Kelseyville Knights 51-10 in the consolation semifinals of the 73rd annual Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament (REIBT) at Healdsburg.
While the Mustangs (6-2) struggled to hit shots from the perimeter, the fact is they didn’t need to on this night as they were able to overpower the young Knights (1-5) inside. And it wasn’t just a one-girl show. Mia Hoogendoorn finished with 17 points, Amanda Hart and Bella Santiago each had 10, and Skylar Williams finished with eight.
When starter Kamryn Atkins got into early foul trouble, Santiago popped off the Middletown bench and turned in her best game of the season, including scoring the Mustangs’ final six points of the first quarter for a 18-3 lead.
“Bella really stepped up for us tonight,” Middletown head coach Roxi Hoogendoorn said. “I would have liked to see us shoot the ball better from the outside, which is something we’re going to have to do a better job of when we get into league. It’s not like won’t we don’t practice shooting all the time.”
The Mustangs pounded the ball down low all night to a variety of players and on those occasions when they didn’t hit their first shot, they usually hit the second or even the third after pulling down offensive rebound after offensive rebound in the first half. Santiago and Hart dominated on the boards with 10 rebounds apiece while Abigail Tacla added seven more.
“Everyone contributed,” Hoogendoorn said of her team’s aggressive play inside.
The Mustangs suited up only six players for the second game in a row. With a little luck, they’ll have senior point guard Jaidyn Brown (shoulder injury) back by Tuesday when they host Fort Bragg in a league game.
“How do you be disappointed with that?” Hoogendoorn said. “Only six players, so there’s almost no break for them. They’re exhausted. I’m really proud of them.”
While Terry McIntire, Kelseyville’s first-year head coach, has enough players to spell his starters, what he doesn’t have are enough players willing to take open shots when the opportunity presents itself.
“I just want to see us put some points on the board,” McIntire said of the 10 and 11 points the Knights have scored in their first two tournament games. “We’re not horrible shooters, but we’re not taking shots. We need to have the confidence to take those shots, that’s what I want to see us do.”
Kelseyville players often passed up open looks from the outside to pass the ball around the perimeter or to drive inside against a Middletown zone defense that wasn’t going to allow it, resulting in numerous forced turnovers that the opportunistic Mustangs turned into easy fastbreak baskets.
Four different Mustangs scored in the opening minutes as the Mustangs surged to a 12-0 lead. Faith McIntire, a freshman, scored Kelseyville’s first points by hitting a shot with 4:06 left in the first quarter. She added a free throw a few minutes later, but a pair of Santiago baskets and two Santiago free throws gave the Knights an 18-3 advantage by quarter’s end.
Middletown scored the first 10 points of the second quarter for a 28-3 lead before Ashlyn Klein’s bucket for the Knights made it 28-5. The Mustangs closed the half with a 7-0 run, including five straight points by Hoogendoorn and a Williams layup.
The two teams combined for only eight points during a sluggish third quarter. Middletown scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter before Mikaylah Meyer’s 3-pointer gave the Knights their final points of the night.
McIntire and Meyer led the Knights with three points apiece.
In other girls tournament action Friday:
Lower Lake JVs 49, Fairfield JVs 15
At Folsom, the Lower Lake High School junior varsity girls basketball team overpowered Fairfield in a second-round game at the Folsom-Vista Winter Classic.
The Trojans (2-2) led 12-0 after one quarter and 20-2 at the half.
Brooke Benson led Lower Lake with 14 points, Alyxa Milano had 10, Mary Watson eight and Brooke Watson seven.
“Another great defensive game,” Lower Lake coach Jessica Wiley said. “It’s great seeing this team grow and finding new ways to improve every game.”
