Mustangs rally past Knights in battle of 7-1 teams; Cards down Cougars, Trojans fall
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MIDDLETOWN >> The Kelseyville Knights were determined not to let four-year varsity veteran Mia Hoogendoorn beat them Tuesday night as they squared off with the Middletown Mustangs in a North Central League I girls basketball first-place showdown at Middletown High School.
So, sister Izzi did the honors with big assists from Sarah Fetters and sister Mia as the Mustangs rallied past the Knights for a back-and-forth 50-47 victory at the Tallman Gym.
Just a freshman, Izzi Hoogendoorn did more than just a little bit of damage to the Knights (7-2 league, 12-8 overall). She scored a career-best 23 points, pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds and added seven steals.
“She was on a mission,” Middletown head coach Roxi Holt said. “She wanted to make a statement, and she did.”
Hoogendoorn’s absence was keenly felt when the two teams last met on Dec. 17, a 44-31 Knights victory at Kelseyville.
“She didn’t play,” Holt said of a concussion that prevented the younger of the Hoogendoorn sisters from suiting up. “And we missed her.”
“We went into the game wanting someone other than Mia beat us,” Kelseyville head coach Tim Conrad said. “We held her to 10 points. Unfortunately, Izzi got 23 points.”
An off-night shooting for Mia Hoogendoorn, currently ranked 12th on the county’s list of all-time career scoring leaders, against a stingy Kelseyville defense led to a tough night for the senior although she did score her team’s final four points at the free-throw line, the final two free throws making it 50-45 with just seconds remaining. A Middletown foul in the closing seconds helped Kelseyville narrow the gap to 50-47 as Briana Davis sank a pair of free throws, part of her 12-point effort.
Kelseyville had as much as a five-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Hoogendoorn sisters rallied the Mustangs. Trailing 43-40 with 3:35 remaining, Izzi Hoogendoorn scored to make it 43-42, then the Mustangs forced a jump ball and received the ball on the possession arrow. Izzi scored again with 2:27 left to give Middletown a 44-43 lead. Kelseyville pushed back in front 45-44 at the 1:41 mark before Izzi pounded her way inside for another two points, putting the Mustangs (8-1 league, 15-5 overall) ahead to stay as things would turn out.
Mia Hoogendoorn took it from there, drawing two fouls that put her on the free-throw line and the veteran responded by hitting all four shots.
While Kelseyville’s defense did a good job denying Mia Hoogendoorn during the game, Izzi Hoogendoorn hurt the Knights in the paint often.
“Most of her shots were from inside, on drives inside, all in the paint,” Holt said.
Sarah Fetters also came up big for Middletown, according to Holt.
“She’s stepping it up big time,” Holt said of Fetters, who sank three 3-pointers.
Middletown led 11-8 after one quarter and 19-16 at halftime. Kelseyville’s offense shifted into overdrive during a 19-point third quarter as the Knights carried a 35-34 lead into the final period.
“We came out of the half smoking,” Conrad said of the third-quarter surge. We went on a huge (13-0) run with deflections, steals and transition buckets. Our bench was going nuts.”
“The third quarter got away from us a little bit, but we settled down in the fourth quarter and took care of business,” Holt said. “We came out and beat a strong Kelseyville team.”
“It was a tough, hard-nosed game tonight,” Conrad added. “Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong end. They executed better down the stretch than we did, but I am incredibly proud of my girls and how far we have come.
“We are not out of it, either. You never know what could happen.”
While the remaining schedule – five games for both teams – favors Middletown, Holt echoed Conrad’s sentiments.
“You never know,” Holt said. “There’s no off day. You have to show up for each game.”
Ashlyn (AJ) Wurm led the Knights with 17 points and sparked the team’s third-quarter push. She finished with a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds. Cali Schnabl added nine points, four assists and four steals. Nyejzniya Krohn had 12 rebounds.
“No team works as hard as my girls,” Conrad said.
Kelseyville is home Friday to play St. Helena (5-3) while Middletown hits the road to take on Lower Lake (2-7).
In junior varsity action Tuesday, Kelseyville strengthened its hold on first place in the NCL I standings with a 49-41 victory over Middletown.
While Kelseyville head coach Liz Berry said it wasn’t the Knights’ best game of the season, three Kelseyville players did finish with double-doubles. Grace Hobbs led the way with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals, Riley Hanson had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five steals, and Jordyn Wurm had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“It wasn’t the prettiest win,” Berry said. “We had more turnovers this game than we’ve seen all season. Middletown came out ready for us and they really made us work hard.”
“It was a hard-fought battle, but we just came up short in the end,” Middletown head coach Daryl Dacosta said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They played their butts off, but we just couldn’t close it out in the end.”
Middletown (4-3) cut a 12-point Kelseyville advantage to just one point in the fourth quarter.
“We just didn’t close it out,” Dacosta said.
Maddy De La Torre’s 13 points led the Mustangs while Chloe Pulido added 12 points and Ally Cherry seven.
Kelseyville (8-0, 18-1) now holds a two-game lead over its closest pursuer (Lower Lake) with four games remaining for both teams.
The Knights play a non-league game Thursday in Ukiah (15-3) before resuming league action Friday at home against St. Helena. Middletown travels to Lower Lake on Friday.
In other girls action Tuesday:
Fort Bragg 46, Lower Lake 42
At Lower Lake, Brooke Benson scored 12 points with two 3-pointers and Ayla Ales added nine points with two 3-pointers, but the Lower Lake Trojans made a costly turner late in the fourth quarter that cost them against the Fort Bragg Timberwolves (5-4, 9-11).
The Trojans trailed 44-42 with 15.9 seconds left and tried to call a timeout but turned the ball over on a double dribble. Fort Bragg scored on an inbounds play to go up 46-42 and seal the victory.
“We scratched back from a 10-point deficit,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “I was proud of the girls tonight.”
Fort Bragg led 20-10 after one quarter and 26-17 at halftime.
Jamiya Lee-Ayers had six points and a team-best 10 rebounds for Lower Lake (2-7, 6-14). Brooke Watson added five points.
Lower Lake hosts league-leading Middletown (8-1) on Friday.
In JV action, Madelyn Garner’s 15 points powered Lower Lake to a 57-11 victory. Essie Guerrero added 11 points, Lily Milano had 10 and Juliza Sevilla six.
“We got to practice a new press,” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Wiley said. “Our bench got to see some more playing time. Essie Guerrero stepped up when given the opportunity and was an asset on both offense and defense.”
Lower Lake improved to 6-2 in league play and 13-3 overall. The Trojans host Middletown (4-3) on Friday.
Clear Lake 37, Upper Lake 25
At Lakeport, Faith McIntire’s 13 points and 16 rebounds propelled the Clear Lake Cardinals (2-7, 5-13) past the Upper Lake Cougars (1-8, 6-11) in a battle of teams looking to escape the league cellar.
It was the third meeting this season between the two teams and Clear Lake’s second win, both in league play.
Jazmin Wiebusch added nine points and Karsyn Greer added eight more in the victory. Emily Gersalia led the team with 10 rebounds.
Alyssa John’s 13 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks led the Cougars, who outscored the Cardinals 9-0 in the third quarter to cut a 23-9 halftime deficit to 23-18.
Early foul trouble hurt the Cougars as Aimee Schaefers spent much of the first half on the bench.
“It definitely hurt us having some players out with injuries and sick,” Upper Lake coach Fawn Rave said. “We just couldn’t get a shot to drop, and the girls were frustrated and not playing their game.”
Ashlyn Rhodes finished with six points while Scheafers ended up with nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Clear Lake hits the road Friday to play Fort Bragg (5-4) while Upper Lake hosts Cloverdale (6-3).
Clear Lake also won the JV game, 28-22. Haylie Garcia, Avery Fiske and Cali Albaum finished with six points apiece for the Cardinals (5-4). Upper Lake fell to 3-5.
Cloverdale 46, St. Helena 18
At Cloverdale, Amara Galvan scored 20 points, moving her closer to 1,000 for her career, and the Cloverdale Eagles beat the St. Helena Saints.
Cloverdale (6-3, 9-10) snapped a three-game winning streak for the Saints (5-4, 10-9).
“High-intensity team defense was the difference,” Cloverdale head coach Mac Butler said. “Everyone contributed with deflections, blocks and steals.”
Galvan needs 78 more points to reach 1,000. Cloverdale has at least five games remaining, more if they qualify for the North Coast Section playoffs.
Both teams are on the road Friday. Cloverdale plays at Upper Lake while St. Helena visits Kelseyville.
