UPPER LAKE — Lower Lake certainly got the attention of Upper Lake’s defense after outscoring the host Cougars 14-9 in the first quarter Monday night during a non-league varsity girls basketball game at Upper Lake.
So much so that the Cougars didn’t allow another point until the second half.
Upper Lake used a 25-0 second quarter to push ahead 34-14 at halftime and never looked back while handing Lower Lake a 60-35 loss, the Cougars’ 16th win in 17 games this season.
“They came out strong, they’re an aggressive team,” Upper Lake co-head coach Annie Pivniska-Petrie said of the Trojans. “We made adjustments to our defense and offense.”
Those adjustments stopped Lower Lake dead in its tracks.
“We went to a high-pressure zone defense,” Pivniska-Petrie said. “It kind of reset us. We pressured them and created some havoc.”
The Cougars also hit just about everything in sight in the second quarter, making shots from the field and free-throw line after struggling to do both in the first quarter.
“We missed our free throws and a bunch of chippies (in the first quarter),” Pivniska-Petrie said.
“The girls played real good in the first quarter,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “But once again turnovers killed us. We had 31 on the night.”
Senior guard Maddy Young was responsible for a lot of the mayhem experienced by the Trojans after the first quarter.
“Maddy controls the tempo on their defense and she did a good job against our guards,” Tubbs said. “She caused a lot of turnovers.”
Upper Lake’s deep bench kept the heat on Lower Lake.
“We feel like any five girls we have out there on the court at any given time can get the job done,” Pivniska-Petrie said.
Young’s 18 points led the Cougars, Taylar Minnis finished with 17 and Kali Minnis had eight.
“She knows how to use her body down low,” Tubbs said of Taylar Minnis, the Cougars’ center.
Tiahna Tubbs, a junior guard, scored a team-best 16 points for the Trojans, including three 3-pointrs. Izabella Salazar and Ayla Ales finished with six points each.
Lower Lake was minus five players, including a starter, who were ineligible for Monday’s game after they missed school Friday. The Trojans traveled to Fort Bragg for a league game Thursday night and didn’t get him until 1 a.m.
Tubbs elevated three junior varsity players to the varsity squad for the Upper Lake game.
The Cougars’ 16th win of the season came without hitting a single 3-pointer.
In the JV game, Upper Lake held off Lower Lake 38-36.
“We have to cut down on our 32 turnovers and work on running our sets,” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Wiley said. “The girls are getting more confident on the court and it’s great to see.”
Aliana Barnes led the Trojans with 11 points and Alyxa Milano had 10.
Lower Lake is 9-6 on the season.
Upper Lake scoring was not reported.
