Special to the Town Crier
The Pinewood School and St. Francis High girls' basketball programs are two of the best in the Central Coast Section.
And at 7 p.m., today the two will hook up in an interesting non-league match-up at St. Francis.
These teams are on a roll with a combined 37-3 record. Both lead their respective leagues and are ranked among the top five schools in the section. The Lancers and Panthers also figure to go far in the postseason.
St. Francis (7-0, 18-2) took a big step toward capturing another SCVAL De Anza division crown Jan. 26 by halting Homestead's 11-game win streak with a 50-38 win in Cupertino.
St. Francis jumped out to a comfortable 28-14 halftime lead and never looked back in a game for the top spot in the De Anza. St. Francis' Chrissy Hirsch and Homestead's Julie Speckels, a Los Altos resident, both tallied a game-high 13 points.
Two nights later, St. Francis bombed visiting Fremont 73-27, while Homestead (6-1, 19-3) edged host Monta Vista 46-44.
Pinewood, the state's top-ranked Division V team, took a big step in securing the No. 1 seed in NorCal Jan. 26 by drilling Branson 66-46 in Los Altos Hills.
This marked the second time this season that the Panthers have beaten Branson, the third-ranked Division V team in state.
Pinewood (7-0, 19-1) hit 11 of 23 three-pointers and were led by point guard Lauren Smith-Hams, who tossed in seven three-pointers and a game-high 28 points.
"We rose to the challenge," said Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler. "It was our best played game of the season."
The Panthers then promptly pounded visiting Mercy-Burlingame 85-21 last Friday, as freshman Sarah Feely scored a career-high 30 points with four three-pointers.
Gunn (7-1, 13-4) remained in a first-place tie in the SCVAL El Camino Division after defeating host Saratoga 50-45 last Thursday.
The Titans used an 18-6 third-quarter run to secure the win and were paced by Correnda Perkins' 16 points.
The Titans take on co-division leader Milpitas today for sole possession of first place. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. at Gunn.
Los Altos dipped to 3-5 in the El Camino Division and 3-13 overall after losing to visiting Milpitas 47-39 last Friday. Kelsey Yamaoka and Marisa Whitlock led the host Eagles with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Two days earlier, the Eagles fell 46-29 to visiting Lynbrook. Los Altos made just 13 of 59 field goal attempts, according to coach John Mackey.
Mountain View, meanwhile, dropped to 0-7 in the El Camino Division last Thursday with a 40-24 loss at Cupertino.
The Spartans (6-13 overall) were led by Ashlie Cresci's eight points.
Earlier in the week, Mountain View was edged by visiting Saratoga 37-36.
Cresci scored 14 points for the Spartans and Selena Lewis chipped in 11.