The Lady Eagles are hitting their midseason stride this week after claiming two wins in three outings at the 71st annual Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament (REIBT) in Healdsburg.
The tourney ran Dec. 11 to 14 and also included teams from Healdsburg, Arcata, St. Mary’s, Justin Siena, Kelseyville, Ukiah and Fortuna.
The Eagles opened the REIBT with a Dec. 11 tilt with eventual champion St. Mary’s, as the Panthers raced to a 43-18 halftime lead en route to a 68-33 rout.
“We didn’t match up well against them, but it was a good learning experience,” Cloverdale coach Rick Berry said.
Pacing the Eagle’s offensive attack were Tehya Bird (24 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals), Maci Hernandez (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Catherine Driver (2 rebounds, 3 assists), Faith Holloman (3 points, 3 rebounds), Morgan Sceales (2 points, 3 boards), Alyssa Moffett (2 rebounds, 1 steal) and Ahnna Randolph (1 rebound, 2 assists).
The Eagles were back in the win column in Friday’s meeting with Ukiah, erupting for a 34-22 halftime lead. Cloverdale increased the advantage to 23 heading into the final period before settling for a 67-55 victory.
Leading the offense were Bird (18 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals), Moffett (11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist), Holloman (9 points, 1 assist), Hernandez (5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist), Summer Lands (4 points, 2 assists), Sceales (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) and Janaye Hammond (1 point, 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal).
“It was a good bounce-back game, but we gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter, which needs to be addressed,” Berry noted.
The Eagles met Justin Siena for the Consolation championship on Saturday, maintaining a lead nearly the entire game on their way to a 43-27 win.
“It was a nice end to the tourney to take home the Consolation title,” Berry noted. “We’re getting better each game.”
Driver paced the attack with 14 points, including four of five from the three-point arc, adding six rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Other top scorers were Bird (12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal), Holloman (6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal), Randolph (5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), Sceales (4 points, 4 rebounds), Hernandez (2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) and Moffett (1 assist).
Bird, who recorded a double-double in each game, was named to the REIBT all-tourney team.
Next up for Cloverdale (3-1) is participation in the Orland Invitational Tournament on Dec. 19-21. The Eagles open the tourney against longtime rival Etna, a team they’ve faced in the Orland title game the past two years.
