Hoogendoorn scores season-best 32 for Middletown in road victory at Lower Lake
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LOWER LAKE >> Mia Hoogendoorn scored a season-best 32 points, three of them on a one-handed half-court shot to end the first quarter, and the Middletown Mustangs maintained their one-game lead over Kelseyville in the North Central League I varsity girls basketball standings with a 51-37 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans on Friday night in Lower Lake.
Middletown (9-1 league, 16-5 overall) took a 27-12 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We did our business in the first quarter,” Middletown head coach Roxi Holt said of the 15-6 lead the Trojans held after the opening period. “With Harley (Holley) out right now (with a knee injury), we’re really running a five-guard set.”
“With what we had, I was happy with how we played,” Holt said.
Hoogendoorn had 20 of Middletown’s 27 first-half points, the most spectacular of which were a 3-pointer as the first-quarter horn sounded. Hoogendoorn was near the half-court stripe by the scorer’s table when she launched a one-handed throw down the court, much like a quarterback, that ripped through the net at the buzzer.
“She plays quarterback when they hold the powder puff football game at the school,” Holt said of Hoogendoorn.
There is also plenty of quarterback DNA in the family. Brother Luke, a past Lake County Athlete of the Year, played quarterback for the Mustangs as did uncle Kurtis Woodard, who led the Mustangs to one of their four section championships.
Her big night scoring also put Hoogendoorn over 1,400 points for her career, one of only 12 county players to ever reach that milestone. She is on a pace to become the first county player since 2018 to top 1,500 points.
Middletown played a sloppy third quarter, according to Holt, but the Mustangs were still able to outscore the Trojans (2-8, 6-15) by a 12-11 margin.
Jaylee Doris finished with eight points in the win and Jordyn Harbison had six.
Holt praised the defensive play of Sierra Francis.
“She came up big for us defensive-wise,” Holt said.
Ayla Ales led the Trojans with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, Irianna Milano added nine points and Jamiya Lee-Ayers had eight.
“We tried making a couple runs during the game, just had trouble finding any consistency,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said as the Trojans lost for the third time this season to the Mustangs.
Middletown hits the road Wednesday against Fort Bragg. Game times have been moved up to 4 p.m. for the junior varsity and 5:30 p.m. for the varsity. The Mustangs return home next Friday for a four-game set with St. Helena. Lower Lake hosts St. Helena on Wednesday.
In JV action Friday, Middletown beat Lower Lake 24-21 behind eight points, seven rebounds and seven steals from Chloe Pulido, five points, eight rebounds and five steals from Maddy De la Torre, and five points from Thaly Rodriguez.
“It definitely wasn’t the prettiest game, but a win’s a win and I’ll take it,” Middletown head coach Daryl Dacosta said. “We turned the ball over a lot and got into foul trouble early, but the ladies stuck to the gameplan and pulled out the win.”
Middletown is now 5-3 in league play.
Lower Lake (6-3, 13-4) received six points apiece from Khaya Chaney and Madelyn Garner, and another five from Leanna Ortega.
“It was a slow game,” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Wiley said. “We had some moments that I thought would be the spark we needed, but it just didn’t click. We let them get to the line a few too many times.”
In other girls action Friday:
Kelseyville 60, St. Helena 29
At Kelseyville, the Knights (8-2, 13-8) were minus their head coach, Tim Conrad, and a starter, Mati Mateer, both out with the flu, but still had no problem beating the St. Helena Saints (5-5, 10-10). Junior varsity head coach Liz Berry and varsity assistant coach Mark Conrad filled in on the Knights’ bench.
Ashlyn Wurm led the Knights with 16 points, Briana Davis had 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Cali Schnabl had 12 points and four rebounds as Kelseyville stayed on Middletown’s heels in the NCL I standings. Nyejzniya Krohn contributed nine points, five rebounds and three steals.
“There was a great team effort tonight and our bench really came out strong,” Berry said. “We were down a starter and a head coach, but our captains, Cali Schnabl and Briana Davis, stepped up and helped lead the team.”
Kelseyville travels to Upper Lake on Wednesday.
Berry also coached the Kelseyville JV team to a 52-4 win. The Knights led 32-0 at halftime.
Grace Hobbs led the Knights with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Aubree Sperber finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Riley Hanson added eight points and nine rebounds, and Kendra Devries had eight points and four steals.
Kelseyville is now 9-0 in league play and 19-2 overall.
Fort Bragg 52, Clear Lake 33
At Fort Bragg, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves (6-4, 11-11) won their third straight league game by beating the Clear Lake Cardinals (2-8, 5-14).
Faith McIntire picked up another double-double for the Cardinals with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Emily Gersalia added eight points and five rebounds while Kam Cresto had six points and a team-best 12 rebounds. Atiana Patino also scored six points.
Clear Lake hosts Cloverdale on Wednesday.
Clear Lake won the JV game 52-21. Individual scoring was not reported.
Cloverdale 39, Upper Lake 29
At Upper Lake, Ronni Hatcher’s 12 points and nine more from Amara Galvan carried the Cloverdale Eagles (7-3, 10-10) to a win over the Upper Lake Cougars (1-9, 6-12), who lost their leading scorer on the season, sophomore Alyssa John, to a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
“We lost Alyssa John in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, and she had to be helped off the court,” Upper Lake head coach Raelene Cromwell said.
“Never got in a rhythm, slow start plus foul troubles,” Cloverdale head coach Mac Butler said in summing up the Eagles’ night on the court.
John, Aubrey Suzor and Camila Martin were Upper Lake’s high scorers with just five points apiece.
“Aubrey Suzor came back after being sick and helped the team with five points,” said Cromwell, who also praised the rebounding of Aimee Schaefers.
“Aimee Schaefers worked extremely hard on the boards,” Cromwell added. “The girls are continuing to keep their heads up and not giving up.”
Upper Lake hosts Kelseyville on Wednesday.
There was no JV game as Cloverdale is not fielding a JV squad this season.
