Editor’s note: The first-round game has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday with a 6 p.m. tip-off.
UPPER LAKE >> The Upper Lake Cougars not only have the opportunity to advance past the first round of the NorCal Division 5 girls basketball playoffs Wednesday when they host the Portola Tigers at 6 p.m., but a chance to even the score.
Portola (20-11) beat Upper Lake 77-58 in the opening round of the NorCals’ three years ago in Portola to end the Cougars’ season, and Upper Lake players from that team will be on the court Wednesday night, including senior point guard Maddy Young.
Upper Lake (28-2) pulled down the No. 6 seed in the 16-team NorCal field, the winner of which will play the champion of the 16-team SoCal field on March 10 in the Division 5 state championship game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The Cougars need to win four straight games to reach the state finals, beginning Wednesday with Portola, which lost 45-21 to Fall River Mills in the Northern Section Division 5 championship game Saturday night. Fall River Mills (24-2), located in the town of McArthur, is the No. 1 seed in this year’s NorCal Division 5 field.
The good news for the Cougars is two of the top seeds in the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs, No. 2 University, a 63-33 winner over Upper Lake in the championship game Saturday night in San Francisco, and No. 3 San Domenico of San Anselmo, are not part of the NorCal Division 5 playoffs. University was bumped up to Division 3 and is the No. 1 seed there while San Domenico (23-7), last year’s state champion in Division 5, is the No. 1 seed in the Division 4 playoffs.
Getting past Portola is Upper Lake’s first hurdle. The two teams had no common opponents during the regular season, which isn’t unusual given that the Tigers compete in a different section. They tied Redding Christian for the Five League League championship this season.
Upper Lake, the undefeated North Central League II champion, is 3-0 at home in the playoffs so far this season, with wins over The Bay School (San Francisco), Head-Royce (Oakland) and Mount Diablo (Concord) in the sectional playoffs.
Seeded ahead of Upper Lake in the NorCal Division 5 field are Fall River Mills, No. 2 Santa Cruz (22-7), a Division III team; No. 3 Bret Harte (21-7) of Angels Camp, No. 4 Washington (13-5) of San Francisco, and No. 5 Half Moon Bay (18-9).
The winner of Wednesday’s game between Upper Lake and Portola draws the Bret Harte-Tulare Union winner in the quarterfinals Thursday night at the home of the highest surviving seed. Upper Lake would host that game if it beats Portola and No. 14 Tulare Union upsets Bret Harte. If Upper Lake and Bret Harte both win, the Cougars hit the road to play the Sac-San Joaquin Section runner-up.
The Cougars haven’t advanced past the opening round of the NorCals since the 1993-94 season. Upper Lake made it as far as the NorCal finals in the 1990-91 and 1992-93 seasons, which is just one step away from the state championship. If they can reach the NorCal finals this year, they would be only the fourth county team to do so — joining the two previous Upper Lake squads in the 1990s and the 1988-89 Clear Lake Cardinals’ girls team. No county team, girls or boys, has ever reached the state finals.
Upper Lake also needs one more win to match the Lake County single-season record for wins. They would join the 1993-94 Cougars (29-1).
Other NorCal first-round games, all scheduled for Tuesday, have Fall River playing No. 16 seed Big Valley Christian (21-7), No. 8 Escalon 19-9 )playing No. 9 AIMS College Prep (16-5), No. 5 Half Moon Bay playing No. 12 Lincoln (15-16), No. 4 Washington playing No. 13 Bear River (17-11), No. 7 Valley Christian (25-3) playing No. 10 Mount Diablo (17-12), and No. 2 Santa Cruz playing No. 15 Reedley (15-16).
Semifinal-round games are Saturday and the NorCal finals are March 7.
