Fourth time is charm for Cloverdale
Playing the Kelseyville Knights for a fourth time this season and with a possible fifth meeting coming up in a couple of weeks, the Cloverdale Eagles accomplished a couple of pretty important things Tuesday night while posting a 53-42 victory in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action at Cloverdale High School.
First, the Eagles (5-4 league, 14-7 overall) finally beat Kelseyville after losing 45-42 to the Knights in their first league meeting on Jan. 6 in Kelseyville and following two December losses to the Knights, 69-37 in the championship game of the Stokes Tournament at Kelseyville and 52-37 in the finals of the Orland Tournament a few weeks later.
Second, they accomplished what they were unable to do in their four league losses (to Kelseyville, Lower Lake and against Clear Lake twice), which was close out a quality opponent in the fourth quarter.
As an added benefit, the win keeps Cloverdale on the fringe of contention for the NCL I title. While the Eagles still trail league co-leaders Lower Lake and Clear Lake, both 8-1, by three games and Kelseyville (7-2, 18-3 overall) by two games in the standings, they do have games remaining against both Clear Lake and Lower Lake. While they need help from other teams in the league, they remain mathematically alive, which is better than mathematically eliminated.
Cloverdale never trailed after two Tehya Bird free throws put the Eagles ahead 7-6 with 2:18 left in the first quarter, which was part of an 11-0 Cloverdale run to close out the quarter.
Kelseyville cut the deficit to seven by halftime. After Cloverdale’s Camryn Figueroa scored a bucket for the Eagles to get things rolling in the third quarter, Kelseyville’s Alma Perez, held to two points by the Cloverdale defense in the first half, came alive and single-handedly rallied the Knights.
Perez, a senior guard who scored her 1,000th career point in a 70-29 win over Fort Bragg on Friday, went on her own personal 9-point run, hitting four straight baskets and adding a free throw along the way as Kelseyville forged a 29-all tie with 2:32 left in the third quarter.
The Knights never went ahead and Cloverdale finished the quarter with a 33-32 lead.
While the Eagles have stumbled late in close games against the league’s top teams this season, that didn’t happen on Tuesday. Kelseyville and Cloverdale were separated by no more than five points for the first half of the fourth quarter and when Haleigh Meyer scored for the Knights with just less than two minutes remaining, Cloverdale’s lead stood at a precarious 42-39.
And that’s when Figueroa, a junior guard for the Eagles, put the Knights in a headlock they couldn’t escape. She buried a clutch 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining to give Cloverdale some breathing room at 45-39, and after Kelseyville hit one of two free throws to make it 45-40, Figueroa drove inside against two Kelseyville defenders and made an underhand scoop shot that proved to be the real dagger for the Knights as Cloverdale went up 47-40.
Before Kelseyville had time to absorb that play, Figueroa tied up a Kelseyville player and forced a jump ball with the possession arrow in Cloverdale’s favor. The Eagles couldn’t turn that play into any points but they did force a Kelseyville turnover with 49.4 seconds remaining. The Knights had no choice but to foul and sent sophomore Kayli Persons to the free-throw line with 37.3 seconds left. Persons calmly buried both of her shots to make it 49-40.
After the two teams exchanged baskets, Figueroa put the final touches on the win by sinking two free throws with 3.9 seconds left.
Figueroa scored 10 of her team-leading 25 points in the fourth quarter, hitting five of six free throws. Tehya Bird scored five of her 13 points in the final period and also was clutch at the line, hitting three of four shots.
For the game, the Eagles were particularly effective at the free-throw line, going 20-for-28, including 11-for-14 in the fourth quarter. Kelseyville got to the line for only 15 shots and made eight, a fact that wasn’t lost on Kelseyville coach Jim Hale who drew a technical foul early in the fourth quarter while protesting a foul called against the Knights. It turned out to be a big play as Paloma Santos hit one of two free throws as a result of the foul call and Figueroa then buried both technical free throws to give the Knights a 36-33 lead.
“It’s the fourth time we’ve played now,” Hale said. “We know what they’re going to do and they know us pretty well by now too. Give them all the credit. They hit more of their shots at the start of the game and they made their free throws down the stretch.”
Perez and Conrad finished with 12 points apiece for the Knights, who are home Thursday to play Willits (5-4) and on the road Saturday to take on Lower Lake. Cloverdale hosts Middletown (2-7) on Thursday and travels to Willits on Saturday.
Cloverdale’s junior varsity squad beat Kelseyville 55-45 to improve to 4-5 in the league standings.
Game notes: The top four varsity teams advance to the NCL I postseason tournament on Feb. 16-17. The first- and fourth-place teams and the second- and third-place teams meet on Feb. 16. Winners advance to the finals Feb. 17.
