MIDDLETOWN — Sophomore Mia Hoogendoorn scored 24 of her team-leading 32 points in the first half Thursday night as the Middletown High School varsity girls basketball team made quick work of the St. Helena Saints, 69-13, in a North Central League I varsity girls basketball game that ended on a bit of a sour note for the Mustangs at Middletown High School.
Middletown (3-0 league, 9-3 overall), only seven players strong to begin with, finished the game with six as starting point guard Jaidyn Brown, a senior, sustained a knee injury with only two minutes remaining. The extent of the injury wasn’t known late Thursday night although Middletown head coach Roxi Hoogendoorn said the early word was that it wasn’t serious.
“We’re hoping for the best,” Hoogendoorn said. “She had an X-ray and it looked good.”
Brown, who scored 13 points against St. Helena, will undergo a MRI on Friday.
“That’s a huge game-changer for us,” Hoogendoorn said of Brown’s availability.
Hoogendoorn rotated in her only two reserves as often as possible against St. Helena.
“They all got rest time,” she said of her five starters. “When you only have seven, you can do only so much.”
Mia Hoogendoorn scored 13 points in the opening period and added 11 more in the second quarter when she made three of her five 3-pointers on the night.
Amanda Hart added nine points, Skylar Williams finished with eight, and Kamryn Atkins pulled down a team-best 12 rebounds.
Middletown led 21-3 after one quarter and 44-8 at halftime.
The Mustangs are on the road Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against Clear Lake (3-0), part of a four-game set between the two teams in Lakeport.
In the junior varsity game, Autumn Clark and Harley Holley scored 12 points apiece and Brooklyn Wood added 10 more, including a pair of 3-pointers, as Middletown beat St. Helena 50-15 to improve to 3-0 in league play and 7-2 overall.
“We came out playing strong and got a quick lead (28-7) in the first half,” Middletown head coach Jamie Burns said. “Autumn Clark, who suffered an elbow injury early in the season, played exceptionally well tonight offensively and defensively.
“I was able to get all my backup guards some good minutes tonight and I’m very pleased with how well they played,” Burns added.
Middletown hits the road Saturday to play Clear Lake at 1 p.m. in Lakeport.
In other girls action Thursday:
Clear Lake 43, RUP 10
At Santa Rosa, two days after beating St. Helena 65-12, the Clear Lake Cardinals rolled past the Roseland University Prep Knights to improve to 3-0 in league play and 6-4 overall.
“We came out and put a lot of pressure on them and they just couldn’t handle it,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said of the Knights. “We left it on for the first half of the first quarter and you could tell that they were done. They don’t like pressure.”
Clear Lake led 12-3 after one quarter and 23-5 at halftime. The Cardinals’ reserves played as much as their starters for the second game in a row.
“The whole bench played again,” Psalmonds said. “We’re in a good place right now.”
Rubi Ford and Abby Mertle led the Cardinals with eight points apiece while Sierra Bruch had seven and Stella Hill and Montana Wells five each.
“Hill was impressive,” Psalmonds of the senior, who leads the team’s second unit. “She played with the first unit, too. We moved her from post to wing and ran some plays just for her. She was very good defensively and offensively. Her basketball IQ tonight was really good.”
Maddy Brewster led the team in rebounds for the second game in a row, this time pulling down 11 boards.
Clear Lake also won the JV game (score not reported).
The Cardinals take a big step up in competition Saturday when they host Middletown (3-0) as part of a four-game set between the two schools. JV girls action tips off at 1 p.m. followed by the JV boys at 2:30 p.m., varsity girls at 4 p.m. and varsity boys at 5:30 p.m.
Willits 48, Lower Lake 43
At Lower Lake, unable to get a timeout after his daughter, Tiahna Tubbs, hit a 3-point shot to cut Willits’ lead to two with 25 seconds left. Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs looked on in frustration as his daughter was called for an intentional foul that proved to be the pivotal play late in the Wolverines’ league victory over the Trojans.
Willits (2-2) held a 45-40 lead when the junior Tubbs (17 points) sank her third and final 3-pointer of the night, one of 11 treys by the Trojans (1-3, 2-9). As Shannon Tubbs was trying to get either of the two game officials to call a timeout, Willits brought the ball inbounds and Tiahna Tubbs was called for an intentional foul.
“It wasn’t an intentional foul,” Shannon Tubbs said.
Willits hit one of two free throws to go up 46-43. As part of the intentional foul, the Wolverines also were awarded possession of the ball. Lower Lake was forced to foul and the Wolverines made both free throws to seal the victory.
Lower Lake finished the game with more 3-pointers (11) than two-point baskets (five).
“We settled for the 3-point shot too many times,” Tubbs aid. “When you’re not getting them to go in, it’s tough.”
The game was close throughout. Lower Lake led 16-13 after one quarter but Willits pushed ahead 22-19 by halftime, holding the Trojans to three points in the second quarter.
“We have that one quarter when we can’t put something together,” Tubbs said.
Willits took a 37-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
Ayla Ales had 12 points for the Trojans, all on 3-pointers, Serenity McCoy added eight points and Izabella Salazar had six.
Lower Lake is home Saturday to play Roseland University Prep (1-3). JV action begins at 6 p.m.
Lower Lake won the JV game 43-33 as Alyxa Milano scored 16 points. Brooke Benson added nine points and Brooke Watson had eight as the Trojans improved to 3-1 in league and 7-4 overall.
Milano scored 12 of her team-leading 16 in the first quarter, all on 3-pointers.
Alyxa Milano was on fire,” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Wiley said. “They put a box-and-one (on her) to shut her down, but the rest of the team stepped up to fill the void. Aliana Barnes and Brooke Watson both did a great job taking over the role of point to hold the lead. Jamiya Lee-Ayers was solid with getting boards both offensively and defensively as well.”
Added Wiley, “There is a lot of growth continuing with this team. The girls are intuitive when it comes to defense and that continues to be a strength. Willits is always a tough opponent and came out strong. Our girls stepped up to the challenge and took the win.”
