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Published on 01/11/1999 All articles from this issue

Eagles wake up in time to beat rival Mtn. View

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By Pete Borello

Town Crier Staff Writer

Prep Girls Hoop Scoop

he first quarter has not been kind to the Los Altos High girls basketball team.

The Eagles have been slow starters all season, according to coach John Mackey, which helps explain why they entered league play with a 1-9 record.

This trend continued Jan. 6 in their SCVAL El Camino Division opener at Mountain View. Only this time, Los Altos recovered in time to pull out a 47-45 win.

The first quarter proved downright disastrous for the Eagles. They fell behind 18-8, largely due to eight turnovers and an inability to stop Spartans Selena Lewis and Ashlie Cresci. Lewis scored eight of her team-high 20 points in the period, while Cresci scored six of her nine.

Los Altos started chipping away at the deficit in the second quarter, closing within 26-23 by halftime. Center Marisa Whitlock led the comeback with nine points. The 6-foot-1 junior terrorized vertically-challenged Mountain View all evening, finishing with a game-best 21 points.

"I'm really pleased with how we turned it around in the second quarter," Mackey said. "We looked to attack and take it at them."

The Eagles did more of the same in the third. Mountain View opened the half with a three-pointer by Cresci, but Los Altos responded by out-scoring its rival 18-4 the rest of the quarter. The Eagles grabbed their first lead on a short jumper by Alex Brown with 3:19 left in the period and never trailed again.

The Spartans missed their first eight shots of the fourth quarter and found themselves down 45-33 with three minutes to play. That's when Mountain View coach Karl Hawkins called time out in an effort to rally his struggling starters.

"I told them to either start playing or I'd put in some other players who did want to play," Hawkins said.

The talk apparently worked. A strong drive to the hoop by Lewis sparked a nine-point run that ended with back-to-back three-point plays by Stephanie Stewart.

The Eagles, meanwhile, reverted to first-quarter form. Their offense sputtered, especially after Whitlock and Brown fouled out before the two-minute mark. Los Altos also had trouble handling Mountain View's smothering full-court press. The Eagles committed 12 turnovers in the quarter, eight of those coming on consecutive possessions after the Mountain View time out.

This dubious streak ended when Kelsey Yamaoka broke free for a lay-up, giving Los Altos a 47-42 advantage with 1:23 remaining. Yamaoka wound up with 12 points.

The Spartans still wouldn't go away, though. Lewis knocked down a pair of free throws and Kelsey Nakano added another to make it a two-point game with 32 seconds left.

Mountain View (4-7 overall) got the ball back two more times before the final buzzer but failed to capitalize. Lewis and Stewart each missed inside shots on the first possession and the Spartans lost the ball out of bounds on the second possession as time expired.

The Eagles fell back down to earth on Friday, losing 49-19 to visiting Milpitas. Whitlock led Los Altos with eight points. That same day, Mountain View dropped a 37-25 game to visiting Cupertino. Lewis paced the Spartans with eight points.

Other local action

Pinewood (12-1) wrapped up a three-win week with a 66-56 non-league victory over Westmont last Friday in Los Altos Hills. The Panthers had three players in double figures: Sebnum Kimyacioglu (27 points), Lauren Smith-Hams (19) and Sarah Feely (14). Earlier in the week, Pinewood easily beat Notre Dame-San Jose and Redwood Christian to go to 2-0 in the Private Schools Athletic League.

St. Francis opened SCVAL De Anza Division play with a 57-23 pasting of Fremont last Friday in Sunnyvale. The Lancers (12-2 overall) received 12 points from Betsy Butterick and 10 from Whitney Barker.

Homestead is also off to a good start in De Anza Division competition, winning its first two games. The Mustangs (15-2 overall) followed a Jan. 6 win at Santa Clara with a 42-37 home victory over rival Monta Vista. Michelle Wald scored 13 points against Monta Vista, while Julie Speckels of Los Altos chipped in nine.

Gunn sits atop the El Camino Division after winning its first two league games last week. The Titans (7-4 overall) edged host Milpitas 60-57 Jan. 6 and routed visiting Saratoga 50-35 Friday. Correnda Perkins scored 27 points against Milpitas.