Understrength Lower Lake varsity girls fall to Maria Carrillo, JVs rally for win
Lake County Sports on Facebook
SANTA ROSE >> Minus three guards who were unable to play in the season opener, the Lower Lake Trojans struggled against Maria Carrillo’s full-court pressure and lost 56-21 to the Pumas in Friday night in Santa Rosa.
“It would have helped having them because the ones I had got gassed under the pressure we were facing, but it wouldn’t have been a win, just a little more competitive,” Lower Lake varsity girls basketball coach Shannon Tubbs said.
Irianna Milano and Madelyn Garner were both attending a cheer camp in Florida while Brooke Watson had to work, all excused absences, according to Tubbs.
“Cheer camp stuff they earned during football season,” Tubbs said of Milano and Garner.
Maria Carrillo (3-0) was also playing its third game of the season, and they’ve all been lopsided wins to this point.
“They’ve got a good team down there,” Tubbs said of the Pumas. “We went up against at team that was very fundamentally sound.”
While building a 35-11 halftime lead, the Pumas took advantage of numerous unforced errors by the Trojans.
“Definitely a playoff-caliber team we faced for our first game,” Tubbs said. “We will make adjustments and get better from this experience.”
Lily Milano and Jamiya Lee-Ayers finished with six points apiece to lead the Trojans. Mary Watson added four points, Aly Aguirre had three and Olivia Guralas two.
Lower Lake’s varsity returns to action Thursday, Dec. 4 against Hoopa in the opening round of the third annual Sandy Mac Memorial Tournament at Cloverdale High School. Tip-off is 8 p.m. The tournament runs through Dec. 6.
Junior varsity
Lower Lake’s junior varsity fared much better, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge Maria Carrillo 39-37 behind 16 points from Darleen Benefield and 15 from Samira Mendez. Eden Sparks added seven more.
“Defensive pressure by Darleen and Samira kept the ball on our side of the court the majority of the fourth (quarter),” Lower Lake head coach Jessica Lackowski said. “We have a young team with only one returning sophomore, so there is still a lot to learn, but we’re extremely proud of their effort tonight.”
