LAKEPORT — Amber Smart went 7-for-11 from the field with three 3-pointers and the Clear Lake Cardinals turned back a strong effort from the Kelseyville Knights for a 64-37 victory in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action Thursday night in Lakeport.
Clear Lake (6-0 league, 9-4 overall), one of two remaining undefeated teams in the NCL I standings, had a tough time shaking a young Kelseyville squad that has struggled to put the ball through the hoop this season.
“We wanted to put it away early,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said. “Give Kelseyville credit, they fought, it was a rivalry game. They played tough.”
Clear Lake led just 11-6 after one quarter and 29-17 at halftime.
“We were in the game until halftime,” Kelseyville head coach Terry McIntire said as the Knights fell to 0-6 in league and 1-15 overall. “We finally started playing. I hope they’re finally starting to get it.”
Clear Lake pulled away with a 19-8 third quarter, and a large part of that was Smart, a junior guard.
“Amber kind of found her shot tonight,” Psalmonds said. “She only missed four shots.”
Smart and Bruch both finished with 17 points, joining teammates Montana Wells (12 points) and Abby Mertle (11 points) in double digits.
Olivia Hommer led the Knights with nine points, Cali Schnabl added eight and Ashlyn Klein had six.
“Hommer, she was going strong to the basket. Hopefully they turned the corner,” Psalmonds said of the Knights.
“That’s definitely the most aggressive game they’ve played this season,” McIntire said of his players. “We had a lot more rebounds and took a lot more shots. All in all the best game they’ve played this season given the quality of the opposition.”
In the junior varsity game, Kelseyville knocked Clear Lake from the undefeated ranks in league play with a 36-31 win. No other details were reported.
In other NCL I girls action Thursday:
Cloverdale 40, Middletown 38
At Middletown, Cloverdale improved to 5-0 in league play with a hard-fought victory over the Middletown Mustangs (4-2, 10-5). The Eagles scored the game’s final four points, including a 3-pointer from Tylie Hatcher that put them ahead to stay 39-38 with less than a minute to play. Camryn Donahoo hit the first of two free throws in the final seconds to seal it.
Middletown’s Mia Hoogendoorn sank a pair of free throws to snap a 36-all tie with less than a minute to play and give the Mustangs their final lead of the game.
Middletown went just 10-for-23 from the free-throw line and was held without a 3-pointer for the second game in a row. Cloverdale made six 3-pointers, getting three apiece from Hatcher (14 points) and Rylee Reasoner (nine points).
“Our last two losses have been by (a total of) three points,” Middletown head coach Roxi Hoogendoorn said. “That’s what’s frustrating. Both of those were winnable games.”
Middletown fell 31-30 to Clear Lake last Saturday in Lakeport.
Adding to Hoogendoorn’s frustration were the Mustangs’ struggles from the line against Cloverdale, including two missed free throws in the final seconds. They also continue to struggle from behind the 3-point arc.
‘”Skyler (Williams) and Mia (Hoogendoorn) aren’t hitting 3s and I don’t know why,” Hoogendoorn said.
Cloverdale played a box-and-one defense around Hoogendoorn, a sophomore, limiting her to six points.
Amanda Hart led the Mustangs with 13 points and Williams added eight.
Hatcher’s 14 points powered the Eagles. who led 23-17 at halftime and 30-29 through three quarters.
“She’s a great player, I can’t take that away from her,” Hoogendoorn said of Hatcher.
“Amazing game, both teams played really well, very proud of my team for coming out on top,” Cloverdale head coach Mac Butler said.
Middletown hosts Willits on Saturday. JV action tips off at 4 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.
In the JV game, Harley Holley’s 24 points carried the Middletown Mustangs to a thrilling 39-38 win over Cloverdale. Autumn Clark added six.
“You can always count on a competitive game against Cloverdale with tough defense and 3-point shooters,” Middletown head coach Jamie Burns said. “It was a good battle back and forth the whole game.”
Leahmya James-West hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull Middletown into a 17-17 halftime tie.
Fort Bragg 59, Lower Lake 42
At Fort Bragg, the Lower Lake Trojans keep digging themselves a big hole early and such was the case again Thursday as they fell behind the Fort Bragg Timberwolves 21-7 after one quarter.
“We got off to a slow start again, then fought our way back,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “But it was too big of a hole. We got it down to six or eight at one point but ran out of steam.”
Tiahna Tubbs led the Trojans with 22 points, Rebecca Theodorou had seven while Izabella Salazar and Ayla Ales each had six.
“Theodorou had an excellent game both on the glass and on defense,” Tubbs said.
While Lower Lake (2-5, 5-11) is struggling right now, Tubbs said his team won’t back down.
“We’re not going to be an easy out for anyone, we’ll keep battling hard,” he said.
Lower Lake has a league bye Saturday but hits the road Monday to play Upper Lake in a non-league game.
Lower Lake beat Fort Bragg 49-12 in the JV game behind Jamiya Lee-Ayers’ double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Brooke Watson added eight points and Alyxa Milano had seven as the Trojans improved to 5-2 in league and 9-5 overall.
“We definitely cleaned up our turnovers this game,” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Wiley said. “The whole team was able to put in work. We held them to two points each quarter until the fourth.”
Fort Bragg’s foul trouble played into Lower Lake’s hands throughout the game. In fact, the Trojans played the Timberwolves four-on-four in the fourth quarter after Fort Bragg ran out of players.
“It was great because we got to get our bench players some more playing time than they usually see,” Wiley said. “It was a fun game to play. Fort Bragg is young but have some players with a lot of potential.”
