Eagles have won eight of last nine
Maci Hernandez sank two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Cloverdale Eagles rallied to upend the Lower Lake Trojans 39-35 in North Central League I junior varsity girls basketball action on Friday night in Cloverdale.
Cloverdale (8-5 league, 12-11) has won eight of its last nine since starting 0-4 in league action and the victory over the Trojans also pushed the Eagles above the .500 mark for the season.
“We really came together as a team and having Maci back helps,” Cloverdale coach Mac Butler said of Hernandez, who was sidelined with an injury earlier in the season.
Cloverdale trailed 25-23 entering the fourth quarter but went ahead to stay on the two treys by Hernandez. “They may have been her first two threes of the season,” Butler said.
Cloverdale outscored Lower Lake 16-10 in the final period. Hernandez finished with a team-best 18 points and also had 10 rebounds and three steals. “She was the difference-maker,” Butler said.
Heather Sterling added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Earlier in the week the Trojans notched a 49-26 win at St. Helena behind 14 points and five steals from Sterling, 10 points and 12 rebounds from Hernandez, and seven points from Julie Edwards. “I thought they played pretty good,” Butler said. “We could have rebounded better. We gave up too many second-chance shots.”
The Eagles closed out their season with a league game on Tuesday in Fort Bragg.
