Eagles start slow, finish strong in NCL I game
An ugly first quarter and a sluggish first half gave way to a solid 52-22 victory by the Cloverdale Eagles over the St. Helena Saints in North Central League I varsity girls basketball action on Thursday night at the Cloverdale High School gym.
It took the Eagles (3-2 league, 12-5 overall) a quarter and a half to sync a misfiring offense with a ballhawking defense, but with 4:20 left in the second quarter and Cloverdale leading just 8-7, the Eagles began to find their rhythm. A 7-2 run that featured baskets from Camryn Figureroa , Katie Edwards and Tehya Bard made it 15-9 and another basket by Figueroa, who carved her way inside through the heart of the St. Helena defense, pushed the Eagles’ advantage to 17-10 at the half.
Cloverdale finished the first half shooting just 7-for-26 from the field and 3-for-14 from the free-throw line. While the Eagles continued to struggle from the line in the second half – they were an awful 4-for-20 for the game – a 13-for-22 effort from the field in the third quarter left the Saints squarely in Cloverdale’s rear view mirror.
St. Helena, which will be fortunate to win a league game this season and now stands at 0-4 in the NCL I standings, suited up just six players and never was a threat to Cloverdale. It simply boiled down to how long the Eagles were going to let the Saints stick around, and that wasn’t very long in the third quarter.
Cloverdale dominated St. Helena on the offensive boards, never more so than during a 27-1 third quarter. Bird, who scored just three points in the first half, erupted for 12 in the third quarter alone. During one stretch the freshman scored six points in a row and eight of 10 as the Eagles pushed their lead to as many as 34 points.
And it wasn’t only Bird who began to find the range in the third quarter. Figueroa set the tone early by burying a 3-pointer in the opening seconds. Bird scored on a three-shot Cloverdale possession the next time the Eagles had the ball, and consecutive baskets by Figueroa on a driving layup, by Bird on a powerful move inside, and by Edwards on a steal and layup, gave Cloverdale a 28-10 lead.
St. Helena had been outscored 27-0 in the quarter until Adriana Gomes hit the second of two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to make it 44-11.
Cloverdale’s starters were mostly out of the game after the first couple of minutes in the fourth quarter and the reserves took it from there. St. Helena outscored Cloverdale 11-8 during the final period but it was of no consequence.
St. Helena finished the game with only five players as Josiphina Gomez fouled out in the final minute.
Figueroa led the Eagles with 19 points and Bird finished with 15. Jaedyn Jenkins and Shaye Stewart added five points apiece. Edwards and Poloma Santos each had four.
Cloverdale’s junior varsity squad notched its first league win with a 67-28 victory over St. Helena.
The Eagles hit the road on Friday to play undefeated league leader Lower Lake (5-0, 12-5), a winner of nine straight. Cloverdale returns home Tuesday to play Fort Bragg, part of a four-game set between the two schools. The JV girls tip off at 3:30 p.m., the JV boys follow at 5 p.m., the varsity girls play at 6:30 p.m., and the varsity boys square off at 8 p.m.
Notes: Cloverdale has won three straight after league-opening losses to Clear Lake and Kelseyville … Thursday’s game was a makeup after transportation problems forced the Saints to scratch a Tuesday trip to Cloverdale … After the Eagles play Fort Bragg at home on Tuesday, they begin the second half of their league schedule Jan. 27 against Clear Lake in Lakeport.
