Cloverdale’s varsity girls basketball team hit the accelerator last week, beating Kelseyville, Middletown and Willits in a five-day span to run its North Central League I record to 7-4.
While the Eagles are still looking up at Clear Lake (10-1), Kelseyville (9-2) and Lower Lake (9-2) in the standings heading into the final three games of the regular season, Cloverdale coach Rick Berry said his team has been here before and knows what to do as it gears up for another postseason run in North Coast Section Division V.
In the NCL I varsity boys race, the two-time defending champion Cloverdale Eagles finished the week with a 2-1 record, but that one loss, a 59-56 setback at Kelseyville on Jan. 31, knocked them one game behind Knights as the two teams head down the homestretch in league play.
Kelseyville (10-1) was home Tuesday against archrival Clear Lake (6-5) while Cloverdale (9-2) hosted St. Helena (5-6) on Tuesday. Results were not available as the Reveille went to press.
Varsity girls
Beating Kelseyville 53-42 on Jan. 31 in Cloverdale provided the Eagles with their signature win of the 2016-17 season, at least to date. It was the fourth meeting between the two teams this season and Cloverdale’s first victory. The Eagles twice fought off Kelseyville rallies as the Knights came back to tie the game, the final time at 33-33 with 6:21 remaining in the game.
Cloverdale held off Kelseyville from there by making 11 of its 14 free throws in the quarter. Camryn Figueroa, who led all scorers with 25 points, went 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch and she helped seal the victory by hitting an underhand scoop shot with two defenders in her face with 1:13 left to make it 47-40.
Earlier in the game Figueroa was fouled while taking a 3-point shot and she hit all three free throws to give the Eagles a 21-11 lead.
Tehya Bird added 13 points in the win, including 7-for-8 at the free-throw line.
It’s possible Cloverdale and Kelseyville could play a fifth time in the league postseason tournament beginning Feb. 16 at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
The Eagles followed up their Kelseyville win with a 51-34 victory over Middletown on Feb. 2 in Cloverdale and capped their week with a 43-30 victory at Willits on Saturday.
Against Middletown, Bird led the Eagles with 12 points, Figueroa added 11 and Kayli Persons 10. Cloverdale allowed just five first-half points while building a 21-5 halftime lead.
“We came out with intensity and played well,” Cloverdale coach Rick Berry said. “We played with a ton of energy.”
Paloma Santos and Shaye Stewart rounded out Cloverdale’s balanced scoring attack with six points apiece.
Against Willits, Persons led all scorers with 16 points as the Eagles overcame a rough game shooting the ball to pick up the victory.
“We shot poorly,” Berry said of Cloverdale’s 1-for-13 effort from behind the 3-point arc and a 6-for-27 performance at the free-throw line.
Figueroa, who has been red-hot of late shooting the ball, got into immediate foul trouble and spent a good portion of the game on the bench before finally fouling out in the fourth quarter with just two points. “She was snakebit,” Berry said.
Cloverdale gradually pulled away from Willits (5-6). It was 12-6 after one quarter and 21-12 at halftime.
Looking ahead to his final three league games – Feb. 7 at St. Helena, Friday at home against Lower Lake and Feb. 14 at Fort Bragg – Berry said the Eagles found themselves in a similar situation last year when they finished league with four losses but went on to win the league postseason tournament.
“We’re playing pretty well right now,” Berry said. “We’re still a young team and making a lot of mistakes, but we’re gaining experience. The girls really want another shot at Clear Lake in the Shaughnessy (league tournament). We felt like we had ‘em both times.”
Cloverdale lost 48-43 in overtime and 46-41 to Clear Lake in league play.
Varsity boys
In varsity boys action, Cloverdale’s week ended better than it began as the Eagles defeated a winless Willits squad (0-11 league, 0-20 overall) 57-34 after blanking the Wolverines 16-0 in the first quarter. Cloverdale led 38-10 at halftime.
With reserves playing nearly as much as the starters, the Eagles’ scoring was pretty balanced. Jordan Persons led the way with eight points and Jayson McMillan had seven.
On Feb. 2, the Eagles had to rally from a 19-15 halftime deficit to beat the Middletown Mustangs 50-35 at Middletown. Cloverdale finally got going against the Mustangs (4-7) in the third quarter, outscoring Middletown 18-4 in the period to open up a 33-23 lead.
McMillan scored 17 of his team-leading 26 points in the second half to fuel the Cloverdale comeback. Luke Pope added 10 points in the win.
“He took the game over,” Middletown coach G.J. Rockwell said of McMillan’s second-half play.
In their Jan. 31 loss at Kelseyville, the Knights’ Kyle Ellis buried a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining to snap a 56-all tie. Ellis then stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory in a game matching two teams tied at 7-1 in the league standings entering play.
Cloverdale beat Kelseyville 73-60 in their first league meeting Jan. 6 at Cloverdale.
McMillan’s 19 points paced the Eagles while Gage Hoover finished with 15, including three 3-pointers, and Christian Rivera had 10.
The Eagles are home against Lower Lake on Friday before finishing up on the road Feb. 14 in Fort Bragg.
