77-58 loss in NorCals ends season
Cougars stick with Tigers for first half
LAKE COUNTY >> The Upper Lake Cougars stuck like flypaper to Portola for the first half of their NorCal Division 5 first-round girls basketball game nearly a year ago today in Portola, but it was a different story in the second half as the Tigers pulled away for a 77-58 victory.
Until the COVID-19-delayed 2020-21 sports season starts, the Lake County Record-Bee will take a look back at the local sports happenings of a year ago and the teams and athletes who were making the headlines.
The No. 8-seeded Tigers (30-3) punched their ticket to the NorCal quarterfinals while an amazing season for Upper Lake’s underclassmen-dominated 2019-20 squad ended with a 22-6 record.
“The girls are hurting, I’m hurting,” Upper Lake head coach Mike Smith said shortly after the final seconds ticket off the clock against Portola. “That tells you how competitive they are. We’re already looking forward to next season.”
Upper Lake more than held its own in the first half against the North Section champions and trailed only 35-31 at halftime, but Portola outscored the Cougars 2412 in the decisive third quarter to take control of the game.
“They shot the ball extremely well,” Smith said. “They moved the ball against our zone defense extremely well. We probably should have switched to a man-toman sooner. That’s on me. They wore us out.”
The Tigers also won most of the loose balls, according to Smith.
Sophomore Zoey Petrie’s 11 points led a balanced Upper Lake attack. Freshman Heaven’Lee Loans Arrow and senior Alana Sanchez finished with 10 points apiece and freshman Lupy MonloDuncan had eight.
“This is a special group,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a fun ride.”