Cardinals fall 56-53 at Colusa
Minnis' 25 points propel Upper Lake, Middletown falls
COLUSA >> That point guard who impressed Clear Lake High School varsity girls basketball head coach Phil Psalmonds two years ago as a freshman did it again Thursday night as the Pierce Bears beat the Cardinals 56-53 in the opening round of the Colusa Tournament.
Only now, Jocelyn Medina is a junior.
Medina scored 24 points in a 50-35 win over Clear Lake two years ago in tournament action. On Thursday she dropped 40 points on the Cardinals even though Clear Lake played a boxand-one defense around her for a portion of the game.
“They just kept setting screens for her,” Psalmonds said. “They (Bears) are a one-man show, but she’s tough.”
Medina scored 21 points in the first half and 19 in the second half, of which 11 were free throws as the Bears (1-1) held off the Cardinals (0-2) down the stretch in a game that was close the entire way.
Sierra Bruch, Sydney Howe and Montana Wells scored 14, 11 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Cardinals, who draw Sutter in the consolation semifinals Friday at 3 p.m. Rubi Ford added nine points and Psalmonds said the junior guard upper her performance from Tuesday night when Clear Lake fell 57-47 to Upper Lake in the season opener for both teams.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Psalmonds said of Ford’s effort. “Her aggressiveness was good for us.”
In other girls tournament action Thursday:
Upper Lake 71, Round Valley 30
At Upper Lake, Taylar Minnis dominated the Round Valley Warriors down low as the Upper Lake Cougars rolled to a big win in the opening round of the Small Schools Classic.
“She was literally head and shoulders above them. She towered over them and they didn’t have a girl who could match up with her. We definitely exploited it.”
— Mike Smith, Upper Lake head coach
“She was literally head and shoulders above them,” Upper Lake head coach Mike Smith said. “She towered over them and they didn’t have a girl who could match up with her. We definitely exploited it.”
Minnis led the Cougars (2-0) with 25 points, 20 of those coming in the first half, and guard Zoey Petrie added 17 points and a team-leading five steals. Heaven’Lee Loans Arrow, Upper Lake’s leading scorer on Tuesday in the team’s season-opening win over Clear Lake, helped fuel the offense by feeding the ball to her teammates. She logged a team-high eight assists to go along with eight points and five steals.
“She really facilitated the point-forward role,” Smith said of Loans Arrow.
Madison Noble and Maddy Young added six points apiece while playing through injuries.
“She fights through it every day,” Smith said of Noble’s leg injury. “All of my starters worked hard.”
With a 44-17 lead by halftime, Smith was able to give extensive playing time to his reserves, who received plenty of help and guidance from the team’s veterans, according to Smith.
“They really helped the younger players,” Smith said.
Upper Lake plays Cloverdale on Friday at 6:30 p.m. as the round-robin tournament continues.
Casa Grande 37, Middletown 23
At Santa Rosa, the Middletown Mustangs fell to the Casa Grande Gauchos in the opening round of the Piner Tournament after going scoreless in the first quarter and trailing 27-4 at halftime.
“We had zero patience and 10 turnovers in the first half, we couldn’t get anything going,” Middletown head coach Andy Brown said. “I’m not sure what happened in the first half.”
Paige Astley’s 11 points, including two 3-pointers, led the Mustangs (12). Jaidyn Brown and Ella Rockwell added four points apiece.
Middletown plays Novato on Friday at 4 p.m. in the consolation semifinals.