Cougars collect big win
Girls stun Laytonville, boys fall to Warriors
LAKE COUNTY >> Hitting a series of pressure-packed free throws in the fourth quarter, the freshmen-dominated Upper Lake High School varsity girls basketball team stunned a veteran Laytonville squad 45-35 in a non-league game played nearly a year ago today in Upper Lake.
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.
Girls basketball
Laytonville, a North Coast Section Division 6 powerhouse, became Upper Lake’s third victim of the just-underway 2019-20 season as the Cougars improved to 3- 0. Upper Lake suited up five freshmen with three of them starting, including Heaven’Lee Loans Arrow, who led the way with 12 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks.
Another freshman, Maddy Young, also filled up the stats sheet with five points, nine steals and four assists.
One of the team’s veterans, Molly McCabe, sank four clutch free throws down the stretch to keep the Cougars ahead on the scoreboard.
Upper Lake would go on to post a 22- 6 overall record, including a North Central League II championship (7-1). They would reach the semifinals in the sectional playoffs and advance to the NorCal tournament, losing to Portola in the opening round.
Boys basketball
While Upper Lake’s girls were taking care of business against Laytonville, the Upper Lake varsity boys suffered their first loss of the 2019-20 season as they fell 62- 46 to the Warriors despite a
17-point night from Dalton Slater, who was the only Cougars player to score more than five.
Despite a cold- shooting night, the Cougars took a 30-27 lead into halftime. Laytonville took control of the game with a 20- 6 third quarter.
“That’s when we really fell apart,” Upper Lake head coach Tony Arroyo said of the third quarter. “We came out flat.”
Arroyo would go on to lead the Cougars to a winning record (14-10) and sectional playoff appearance in his first season as Upper Lake’s head coach. Upper Lake lost to Clear Lake in the opening round of the Division 5 postseason tournament.