Cloverdale girls prepare for postseason
Cloverdale erased a double-digit lead and tied the game at 50 with two minutes remaining, but the Lower Lake Trojans went on to beat the Eagles 57-52 in a North Central League I varsity girls basketball game on Friday in Lower Lake.
The Trojans were fighting to remain tied atop the league standings and exited the game in a three-way tie for first with Kelseyville and Clear Lake, all at 11-2. The loss eliminated Cloverdale (8-5 league, 17-8 overall) from the title race.
Camryn Figueroa’s driving layup pulled Cloverdale even in the game’s final minutes but the basket was costly for the Eagles as Figueroa landed on the foot of a Lower Lake player and sprained her ankle, forcing her from the game.
“We lost all of our momentum after that,” Cloverdale assistant coach Maribeth Kelly said of the loss of Figueroa, who led the Eagles with 14 points. “We were mentally not there after that happened.”
Vanessa Hughes buried a 3-pointer for Lower Lake soon after to put the Trojans in front to stay at 53-50. “That took the wind right out of our sails,” Kelly said.
Lower Lake’s defense did its best to disrupt both Figueroa and Tehya Bird (seven points) the entire game.
“When only one of them was in the game they played a box-and-one,” Kelly said. “When they both were in the game they played a triangle-and-two.”
Physical play down low worked to the Trojans’ advantage as the game progressed, according to Kelly. “It was extremely physical in the post and that doesn’t play to our advantage,” she said.
Lower Lake led 30-21 at halftime and 38-30 entering the fourth quarter.
Kayli Persons scored 12 points for the Eagles, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Jaedyn Jenkins added nine points.
On Tuesday night, Cloverdale beat the winless St. Helena Saints 40-27 at St. Helena. The Eagles led 13-3 after one quarter but it wasn’t until the second half that Cloverdale put the game safely in the win column.
“There were a lot of fouls called early,” Kelly said. “It was hard to get into any kind of flow.”
Bird led all scorers with 17 points and Figueroa and Persons finished with seven apiece.
The Eagles closed out their league schedule Tuesday in Fort Bragg. They will open play in the NCL I postseason tournament on Thursday at Mendocino College in Ukiah against an opponent to be determined.
Cloverdale won the league tournament a year ago even though it finished third in the final NCL I standings behind co-champions Kelseyville and Middletown.
“Last year it really set us up going into the (North Coast Section Division V) playoffs,” Kelly said.
Cloverdale went a combined 1-5 against Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Clear Lake in league play, but all five of the losses were close. If Cloverdale and Kelseyville meet in the postseason tournament, it will mark their fifth meeting of the season. The Knights won the first three and the Eagles the last one, a home game.
