Middletown's Abigail Tacla looks for a way to get the ball to teammate Skylar Williams as Healdsburg's Maddie Wagner defends. (Photos by Brian Sumpter)
HEALDSBURG — First-year Middletown High School head coach Roxi Hoogendoorn registered her first career victory in style Tuesday night as the Mustangs withstood a last-second turnover to hand the Healdsburg Greyhounds their first loss of the season, 49-48, in non-league varsity girls basketball action at Healdsburg.
The Greyhounds (7-1) entered play 7-0, including wins over three other North Central League I teams — Cloverdale, Fort Bragg and Lower Lake. Middletown, the defending NCL I champion, had a 49-48 lead with 4.5 seconds remaining when it inbounded the ball under the Healdsburg basket. The Mustangs turned it over and the Greyhounds quickly worked the ball to a wide-open Ashley Behrens, who missed a 12-footer at the buzzer. The ball caught iron on the way down but rattled out as time expired, much to the relief of the Mustangs.
"It worked out in our favor and we were able to pull through," Hoogendoorn said. "I think the pressure got to them a little bit there at the end. We haven't been in a game like that for a while."
Middletown's Amanda Hart draws a crowd of Healdsburg defenders down low. Hart's 18 points powered the Mustangs to a 49-48 victory.
Hoogendoorn said she was thrilled to pick up her first win of the season and of her coaching career against the Greyhounds.
"I'll take it, that was huge for us," she said.
Amanda Hart's play down low was a huge factor in the win, not only on offense as she led the Mustangs with 18 points, but also on defense.
"She really stepped it up," Hoogendoorn said. "And she did a great job against their number 31 (Healdsburg's Itzel Ortiz). That girl is no joke. She can play."
Mia Hoogendoorn, daughter of the coach and only a sophomore, carried the scoring load for the Mustangs early on as she buried three 3-pointers within a two-minute span in the first quarter as Middletown opened up a 12-10 lead.
Healdsburg pushed in front 25-20 by the half.
Hart got going in the third quarter, scoring nine points, including a three-point play with 2:47 left in the period to cut Healdsburg's lead to 29-27. Middletown fell behind by as many as six points twice in the quarter before closing to 36-35 on a basket by Abigail Tacla and a 3-pointer from Skylar Williams (nine points) with 2.7 seconds to go.
The two teams were never separated by more than four points in the fourth quarter. Middletown pushed ahead 40-38 on a pair of Hart free throws with 5:49 left, but Healdsburg went back in front on a Behrens 3-pointer with 5:30 to go. Williams then hit a 3-pointer to give the Mustangs a 43-41 lead.
After the two teams were tied at 43 and 45, Middletown pushed ahead to stay 47-45 on a Jaidyn Brown drive inside — her only two points of the game — with less than three minutes to go. Kamryn Atkins' basket inside seconds later made it 49-45.
A pair of free throws by Healdsburg's Allie Espinoza cut the Mustangs' lead to 49-47 with two minutes left. The score remained unchanged until Ortiz hit the second of two free throws with 1:23 remaining to make it 49-48.
Healdsburg missed two shots down the stretch, both by Ortiz. Mia Hoogendoorn pulled down the rebound following the second Ortiz miss only to end up in a tussle with a Healdsburg player for the ball. A jump ball was called and the possession arrow favored Middletown, setting up the final exciting 4.5 seconds.
Middletown's Jaidyn Brown works the ball around the perimeter during Tuesday's action in Healdsburg. The Mustangs handed an undefeated Greyhounds squad its first loss of the season.
Hoogendoorn said she was satisfied with her team's overall performance despite a few hiccups along the way.
"Mia really proved herself early on," Hoogendoorn said. "And Jaidyn took care of the basketball for us. Skylar came through when we needed her to."
With a roster only seven girls strong, the Mustangs did a great job of staying out of foul trouble. In fact, their first foul in the second half didn't come until late in the fourth quarter.
"These girls are working their butts off," she said. "This is a special group."
Middletown plays Napa at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the Piner Tournament.
Junior varsity
Middletown won the junior varsity game 38-15 behind 12 points from Harley Holley and nine from Brooklyn Wood. Caylee Saelor added six points and Jaylee Doris had four.
"I was proud of my freshmen," Middletown coach Jamie Burns said as the Mustangs improved to 2-0 on the season. "Saelor did a great job."
Burns also had high praise for sophomore point guard Doris.
"Her defense was great," Burns said.
Middletown's half-court press caused Healdsburg all sorts of trouble, according to Burns.
"I played everyone tonight and they all really stepped up," she said.
The only negative was an arm injury sustained by freshman Autumn Clark early in the third quarter that knocked her out of the game.
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