Head-Royce lost for the first time this season Friday, falling 56-38 at Upper Lake as the hosts pulled away with a 31-point second quarter. The Jayhawks dropped to 4-1.
Upper Lake scored the first three points and went up 7-2 before Morgan R. led a 6-0 Head-Royce run. She scored on a two-point basket, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 7 and made a free throw to give the Jayhawks an 8-7 lead, their only lead of the game. Upper Lake answered with five straight points, and Morgan R. made four consecutive free throws to tie it at 12. Upper Lake scored the last four points of the first quarter to lead 16-12.
Leila H. scored twice early in the second quarter, and her basket off a turnover tied the game at 16, the third and final tie. Upper Lake then took control. After Leila H. cut the deficit to 20-18 with another basket off a turnover, the hosts scored 12 straight points. J. Zimmerscheid hit two 3-pointers and M. Noble added two baskets during the run, which pushed the lead to 32-18. Upper Lake kept scoring from there and led 47-26 at halftime.
K. Lopez Gear opened the third quarter with a basket that finished a 9-0 run and put Upper Lake up 49-26, its largest lead of the night. Head-Royce won the third quarter 12-9. Leila H., Morgan R., Nicole L. and Elena K. all scored in the period, and Morgan R. added a basket and two free throws. Elena K. scored on an assist from Nicole L. for the final points of the game, which ended 56-38.
Morgan R. finished with a double-double: 20 points and 12 rebounds. She made 6 of 11 shots from the field and 7 of 11 free throws, and she added four blocks and two steals. Leila H. scored eight points. Nicole L. had four points, six rebounds and a team-high two assists. Elena K. added four points and four rebounds and made both of her free throws.
Turnovers and rebounding decided the game. Head-Royce committed 22 turnovers to Upper Lake's 13, and the hosts had 11 steals and a 10-6 edge in points off turnovers. Upper Lake grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to the Jayhawks' seven and outscored them 15-2 on second-chance points. Head-Royce shot 30.4 percent (14 of 46) from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range, and its bench did not score. Upper Lake shot 33.8 percent and made 3 of 21 from beyond the arc, but its extra possessions made the difference.
T. Minnis led Upper Lake with 16 points and 10 rebounds. K. Lopez Gear had eight points and seven rebounds, and M. Noble also scored eight.
Head-Royce is now 4-1 on the season.