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Published on 02/15/1999 All articles from this issue

FH women whip San Mateo; men stun West Valley

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

Foothill Roundup

he Foothill College women's basketball team tightened its grip on second place in the Coast Conference North Division Feb. 10 with a 75-38 thrashing of host San Mateo.

The win improved the Owls' record to 9-2 in the division and 19-10 overall. The only way they could finish below second is by losing their final three games, according to coach Jody Craig.

The Owls still had a shot at winning the division title when the Town Crier went to press last Friday, but it was a rather long shot. It would require Foothill to win its three remaining games - including last Friday's home date with San Jose City (11-0, 24-5) - and then hope the first-place Jaguars lose one of their final two.

Whether they win the division or not, Craig said her Owls are a lock for the playoffs. But the more wins they get, the better seed they'll get.

Last week's win over San Mateo (5-6, 9-18) may have been a rout, yet Craig wasn't entirely pleased with Foothill's performance.

"We really didn't play well, especially in the first half," she said. "We were too complacent."

Not comfortable with a 33-18 lead, Craig gave her team a stern talking to at halftime. The Owls responded by out-scoring San Mateo 42-20 the rest of the way.

"It was a whole other ball game in the second half," she said. "The intensity picked up and we got after them."

Line Kongeskov led the charge. The freshman finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and two assists.

"She was really our floor leader," Craig said. "She led us with intensity and focus on the floor. She did the blue-collar work."

Ekuah Ramsey added 14 points, five rebounds, six steals and two blocks. Sheree Taft contributed 11 points and Jennifer Tsang had 10.

Foothill plays at Chabot tonight at 5:30.

Men's basketball

Foothill's 80-65 home win over West Valley Feb. 10 was considered an upset by some, but not by Owls coach Todd Petersen.

He was confident Foothill would knock off the seventh-ranked team in the state.

"I expected to win this game," Petersen said. "I told my players before the game we could do it and they got it done."

The Owls got off to a sizzling start, building a 19-point lead midway through the first half. But West Valley closed within 42-38 at intermission.

"We let up a little bit and stop executing," Petersen said. "But in the second half we got right back into it and got going again."

A change in defense helped Foothill re-establish control, according to Petersen. The Owls, who played zone in the first half, switched to man-to-man in the second and held West Valley to 27 points.

And Jimmy White sparked the Foothill offense, scoring 12 of his team-high 20 points after halftime. This included some key free throws in the closing minutes that allowed the Owls to hang on to their double-digit advantage. Tyler McClenahan and O.J. Longmire also hit some big fouls shots at the end, Petersen said, and the team made 21 of 27 for the game.

McClenahan, a transfer from West Valley, hurt his old team by scoring 16 points. Palo Alto High grad Tony Ara added 10 points for Foothill.

With the win, the Owls improved to 4-3 in the Coast Conference and 14-12 overall. This put them a game behind West Valley (5-2, 21-6) in the race for the conference title.

Foothill played at Ohlone last Friday and is at De Anza today for a 7 p.m. game. For a preview, of this contest, see "In the Sportlight" at right.