Zimmerschied’s 14 points power Upper Lake to consolation win over Clear Lake
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FORT BRAGG >> Rylee Zimmerschied scored 14 points, 12 of those on 3-pointers, as the Upper Lake Cougars beat the Clear Lake Cardinals 43-37 in the consolation championship game of the Vern Piver Holiday Classic on Saturday in Fort Bragg.
Naomi Poe added nine points and a team-best nine rebounds as the Cougars (5-5) avenged a 43-39 overtime North Central League I loss to the Cardinals (4-6) on Dec. 17 in Lakeport. Both teams were missing players who opted to participate in the Never Say Die traveling volleyball club’s first tournament of the season in San Mateo. Clear Lake was missing four players and Upper Lake two.
“Coming into the game out two of our bigs, we knew we had to adjust, and the girls did great today doing so,” Upper Lake coach Fawn Rave said. “Alyssa John did great filling in down low, rebounding and moving the ball. She definitely had to work mentally in a game where her shots just wouldn’t drop.”
Zimmerschied, who is just a freshman, had a “huge game,” according to Rave. “She came out of her shell and played great. Shooting the three and defensively, that really helped us today.”
However, it was Poe who was the Cougars’ standout.
“She stepped up defensively and offensively,” Rave said. “We put her on Clear Lake’s Faith McIntire, and that’s not an easy job.”
Though shorthanded and forced to call up a junior varsity player to give the team a bit more depth, the Cardinals battled the Cougars the entire way. McIntire finished with team highs in points (22) and rebounds (20).
Both McIntire and John were named to the All-Tournament team.
Aubrey Suzor had seven points for Upper Lake while John finished with five points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
For Clear Lake, Jazmin Wiebusch scored eight points and Kaitlynn Hackbarth added five points and six rebounds.
Upper Lake led 16-7 after one quarter, 27-22 at halftime and 36-31 through three quarters.
Both teams resume their North Central League I schedules on Tuesday. Clear Lake hosts Fort Bragg while Upper Lake travels to Cloverdale.
Ygnacio Valley 56, Lower Lake 40
At Concord, the Lower Lake Trojans were ice-cold from the field and ice-cold in general as they lost to Ygnacio Valley, their first game in two weeks.
“Our shooting was as cold as the gym today,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said, adding that the Trojans could have played ice hockey on the Wolves’ home floor. “The temperature was so low the girls couldn’t feel their hands or faces. Once we broke the ice we started playing basketball again.”
Ygnacio Valley outscored Lower Lake 15-4 in the first quarter, but the Trojans didn’t score their first points of the game until the final minute of the quarter.
“We competed with them the rest of the game, just couldn’t get out of the hole we dug,” Tubbs said.
Brooke Watson led the Trojans with 14 points while Mary Watson, Aly Aguirre and Irianna Milano added six points apiece. Milano also had five steals.
Lower Lake (5-8) returns to its league schedule Tuesday in Middletown.
