Cardinals put Saints away early

Howe, Wells spark 63-35 league win

LAKEPORT >> The Clear Lake Cardinals won’t be the first North Central League I team to lose to the St. Helena Saints in almost eight years.

Behind 20 points and three 3-pointers from senior wing Sydney Howe and 14 points from junior center Montana Wells, Clear Lake High School’s varsity girls basketball team defeated St. Helena 63-35 on Monday night in St. Helena, the Saints’ 86th straight league loss, a streak that dates back all the way to the 2013-14 season.

“They’re plugging away doing the best they can,” Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said of the Saints (0-2 league, 1-8 overall).

Is there a chance St. Helena ends it streak at some point this year? Psalmonds said it’s a long shot after seeing the Saints in action Monday. With Howe on her game and scoring 17 points in the first half, Clear Lake put St. Helena away early. The Cardinals (1-1, 5-7) had a 23-7 lead after one quarter and a 40-17 halftime advantage.

“We moved the ball real well and took good shots,” Psalmonds said.

Besides Howe being on her game, Wells cleaned up on both the offensive and defensive boards, according to Psalmonds.

“Montana was really strong,” Psalmonds said. “She drew a number of fouls on the offensive boards.”

Wells went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Also for Clear Lake, Abby Mertle scored eight points, Amber Smart had seven and Rubi Ford six. Noor Descamps, Clear Lake’s foreign exchange student, scored her first point of the season, hitting a free throw in the fourth quarter.

The Saints haven’t won a league game since beating Willits 43-21 on the road Feb. 14, 2014. They lost their final game that year (at Cloverdale) to finish 7-3 before advancing to the North Coast Section playoffs. Since that vic

tory over Willits on Valentine’s Day in 2014, St. Helena has gone winless sixplus straight league seasons (not counting the canceled 2020-21 season), including a 50-22 loss to Fort Bragg last month. Their overall record since the 2013-14 season, when they finished 1110, is 16-138 (.104).

Clear Lake is home Wednesday to take on Roseland University Prep of Santa Rosa and home Friday against Middletown.

The Cardinals also won the junior varsity game against St. Helena 58-16.