The Cloverdale High School ladies basketball team is out to a strong start to the league schedule, scoring an impressive, 64-55 home win over Roseland University Prep on Dec. 14. Sophomore Tylie Hatcher led the offense with 27 points, while senior veteran Summer Lands chipped in 24 for the Eagles.
Cloverdale (3-5, 1-1) will visit Ukiah this Saturday, Dec.18 in a non-league contest (6 p.m.) before taking a holiday break. The Eagles will resume league play on Jan. 3 at Lower Lake in a 6:30 p.m. varsity tip-off.
Solid start
The ladies have already logged eight games on the season, claiming their first pair of wins in a preseason tournament on Dec. 2-4. Cloverdale opened the tourney with a 53-49 victory over league rival Willits, but dropped a 49-34 outing to Upper Lake in the Dec. 3 semifinal. The Eagles made short work of Round Valley in the battle for third place, recording a dominant 59-33 rout.
Cloverdale is fielding a relatively inexperienced varsity squad this season, following an idle 2020-21 campaign due to COVID.
Head coach Mac Butler will lead a young squad that features just one returning player; senior veteran Summer Lands.
“Summer is an extremely versatile player who can play any position and is currently averaging 11 points per game and is one of our top rebounders,” Butler noted.
Other seniors include Zoë Katz and Aaliyah Reyes, who will play key roles on both ends of the floor. Juniors are Alexis Gutierrez, Trinity Vlasak, Teyla Caterugli and Maiya Fernandez.
“This group has a lot of basketball experience playing together and continues to grow each week, Butler said. “I also had the pleasure of coaching them all at the JV level.”
Sophomores include talented scorer Tylie Hatcher (11 points per game) and Rylee Reasoner, with both making big contributions in the early going. The lone freshman on the squad is Amara Galvan, who is expected to develop into a top tier player.
The Eagles have realistic expectations for the 2021-22 season, and will look to improve with each outing.
“Our goals for the year are to compete in every game, develop as the season progresses and get the program back on track after missing a year due to COVID,” Butler said.
