Kelseyville girls watch Fortuna score game’s final 10 points in non-league action
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
KELSEYVILLE >> Ashlyn Wurm’s driving layup with 5:34 left in the game had the Kelseyville Knights in the driver’s seat with a 30-23 lead against the Fortuna Huskies in non-league varsity girls basketball action at Kelseyville High School.
That was the good news.
The bad news was they didn’t score again. Playing on short rest – they were on the road in Upper Lake the night before – and missing two starters, Kelseyville watched Fortuna chip away at that lead and ultimately prevail 33-30.
It was a tough loss to swallow for a Kelseyville team that has been red-hot of late – six wins in seven games entering play. With another bucket or two, it might have been seven of eight, but the Knights (8-7), who expend a lot of energy on the defensive end with their backcourt pressure, were simply running on fumes in the final minutes.
“I just felt like we got a little tired at the end,” Kelseyville head coach Tim Conrad said. “That and a short bench, we were missing Nyejzniya (Krohn) and Olivia (Hommer).”
Krohn, the Knights’ center, was attending an elite volleyball tournament that had long been planned, according to Conrad. Senior forward Hommer, out with an injury, was watching the game in street clothes from the Kelseyville bench.
Missing two of their bigs certainly didn’t help, but the Knights put up a pretty good fight, nonetheless.
Wurm, a junior guard who played her first two years of high school ball at Upper Lake before transferring to Kelseyville, led the Knights in scoring for the third game in row following 20- and 21-point efforts earlier in the week against league opponents St. Helena and Upper Lake. She finished with 12 against Fortuna while Briana Davis added 10 and Cali Schnabl six.
“AJ has totally bought into what we’re trying to do here,” Conrad said. “I’m really happy with what she’s done on the court. It’s hard to take her out of games. I took her out only once today to rest her for a couple of minutes.”
To give his bench a bit more depth, Conrad promoted Grace Hobbs from the junior varsity team, and he liked what he saw from the sophomore.
“I thought she did a nice job,” Conrad said of Hobbs, who pulled down five rebounds to go along with two steals and two assists.
While the Knights certainly would have loved to add the Huskies (12-6) to their list of wins this season, Conrad is confident his squad, which is currently tied for the North Central League I lead, has the opportunity to do some big things in the next few weeks.
“I told them (after the game) not to hang their heads,” Conrad said. “They worked their butts off and just didn’t execute down the stretch.”
Looking to his team’s 10 remaining league games, beginning Tuesday in Lakeport against Clear Lake, Conrad said the Knights will get back to business Monday in practice.
“We have a very good chance of winning it,” Conrad said with an eye toward the NCL I race.
Coaching girls basketball for the first time after coaching boys for several years, Conrad said he didn’t know what to expect coming into the 2024-25 season.
“It’s been fun,” Conrad said. “They have really been fun to work with.”
Team notes: Schnabl led the team with seven rebounds, Mati Mateer had two points, six rebounds and three blocks, and Wurm had five steals … Davis didn’t block a shot for the first time this season, according to Conrad. She leads the team with 46 blocks … Kelseyville led 14-10 after one quarter, 18-17 at halftime and 24-22 through three quarters … After playing Clear Lake on Tuesday, the Knights began a three-game homestand, including key contests Jan. 17 against Cloverdale and Jan. 21 against Fort Bragg.
