UPPER LAKE — The scourge of the North Central League I for many years, the Cloverdale High School varsity girls basketball suddenly seems entirely mortal.

The Eagles fell to 1-4 on Friday night courtesy of the Upper Lake Cougars, who hammered out a 49-34 victory in a game that wasn't even that close during second-round play at the Cougars Small Schools Classic in Upper Lake.

Cloverdale was able to make the final score respectable with a 18-9 fourth quarter against a combination of Upper Lake reserves and starters.

"Three reserves with a rotation of two starters," Upper Lake head coach Mike Smith said. "They were still pressing us and it got a bit chippy out there. I started pulling people off the floor. I wanted to keep tempers cool."

Upper Lake's defense, a mix of man and zone, limited Cloverdale to 16 points through three quarters. The Cougars took a 40-16 lead into the final period.

"That defense was suffocating," Smith said. "Our girls did a good job of jumping in and out of the different defenses. Maddy Young (junior guard) really establishes our defense. She has laser focus on whoever her opponent is."

Cloverdale's defense took Upper Lake post Taylar Minnis out of the game by double-teaming the junior, according to Smith.

"They did a good job on Taylar. They frustrated her, but she kicked out the ball to open teammates and was able to contribute in other ways."

While the Eagles were able to limit Minnis to two points, 23 fewer than she had the night before against Round Valley in a 71-30 first-round win, they didn't fare nearly as well against the likes of Heaven'Lee Loans Arrow (17 points), Zoey Petrie (13 points) and Madison Noble (six points 10 rebounds).

Smith said he also received solid play off the bench from Lexy Wurm, who contributed two points and seven rebounds.

"She brings a lot of good energy off the bench," Smith said of Wurm.

Upper Lake is now 2-0 in tournament play and 3-0 overall. The Cougars can wrap a perfect tournament run with a victory Saturday against Willits at 4:30 p.m.

Prior to Friday, the last meeting between the two teams was Feb. 26, 2020 when Cloverdale beat Upper Lake 77-56 in the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs, led by 35 points from senior Tehya Bird, a four-year varsity starter who is now playing softball for the University of Oregon.

Two seasons later it's the Cougars who coming into their own with most of the key players returning from that 2019-20 squad that went 22-6, won the NCL II title, and made it as far as the opening round of the NorCal playoffs before bowing out.

"It feels good," Smith said of beating the Eagles, one of three NCL I opponents Upper Lake will have faced in its first four games, counting Saturday's game against Willits.

Young contributed five assists and Loans Arrow blocked three shots against Cloverdale.

"We're a little tired and beat up, but these girls are stepping up," Smith said.

In other girls tournament action Friday:

Middletown 49, Novato 34

At Santa Rosa, the Middletown Mustangs squared their season record at 2-2 with a win over the Novato Hornets in the consolation semifinals of the Piner Tournament. They'll play the winner of Friday's Mt. Eden-Elsie Allen game for the consolation championship Saturday at 3 p.m.

Coming off a 37-23 loss to Casa Grande of Petaluma in opening-round action Thursday, the Mustangs were able to bounce back behind 16 points and seven rebounds from Paige Astley and 10 points from Skylar Williams. Astley also had four 3-pointers.

"She played both ends of the floor really well," Middletown head coach Andy Brown said of Astley. "Skyler took advantage of some scoring opportunitIes. She scored six points in the fourth quarter, which helped us seal the deal."

Middletown led 16-5 after one quarter and 27-13 at halftime.

"Our offense flowed much better tonight," Brown said. "We stayed out of foul trouble and our defense caused enough chaos to throw off their offense. We played much better defense."

Kamryn Atkins had eight points in the win and Mia Hoogendoorn added six. Jaidyn Brown had seven steals and five assists.

Middletown's junior varsity girls team beat San Marin 34-26 at the Maria Carrillo Tournament in Santa Rosa. Bella Santiago led the Mustangs with 12 points and Abigail Tacla had 10.

Clear Lake 47, Winters 17

At Colusa, Clear Lake's full-court press flattened the Winters Warriors as the Cardinals parlayed a 19-0 first quarter into an easy win in the consolation semifinals of the Colusa Tournament.

"We had a lot of layups," Clear Lake head coach Phil Psalmonds said of the first quarter.

Montana Wells scored six of her team-leading 13 points in the opening period and Rubi Ford had five of her 10 to lead the Cardinals in the scoring column. Sierra Bruch added six points, including one of the Cardinals' three 3-pointers – Ford and Amber Smart had the others.

"It's always good to get a win," Psalmonds said of the Cardinals' initial victory of the 2021-22 season.

Reserve Maddy Brewster saw her first action of the season and also scored her first point.

"She did a good job," Psalmonds said.

Clear Lake (1-2) plays for the consolation championship Saturday at 4 p.m.