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Published on 03/15/1999 All articles from this issue

Dons trample Mustangs in NorCal championship

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

Girls Basketball Div. II Playoffs

Homestead High girls basketball coach Wade Nakamura went into last Saturday's NorCal Division II championship game knowing his team would need to be at its best to beat top-seed Amador Valley.

The second-seeded Mustangs, however, didn't play anywhere near their best, falling 63-41 to the Dons at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

"(Amador Valley) is beatable, but you need to play four quarters of good basketball at both ends of the court to do it," the first-year coach said. "We weren't able to do that."

Homestead shot just 27.7 percent from the field, was out-rebounded 45-25 and committed 21 turnovers.

The Mustangs also struggled on defense, unable to contain Amador Valley guard Mia Fisher (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and center Jaysee Chambers (15 points, 17 rebounds).

"The most disappointing thing is that we take pride in our defense," Nakamura said, "but in the second half it was almost non-existent and (Amador Valley) took advantage of it."

The Mustangs (30-4) only trailed 28-20 at intermission, but then fell apart in the third quarter. The Dons out-scored them 18-7 in the period, as Fisher contributed eight points - all on drives to the hoop.

Homestead entered the fourth down 46-27 and in desperate need of some three-pointers to get back into the game. Problem was, the Mustangs couldn't hit any.

Homestead fired up 13 three-point attempts on the day and only made three. All three makes came by the midway point of the first quarter.

Julie Speckels hit two of these three-pointers and fellow Los Altos resident Shelly Mellberg drained the other. This helped the Mustangs jump out to a 12-8 lead.

But the Dons (30-2) closed the quarter with a 10-3 run that gave them an 18-15 edge. Homestead faltered further in the second quarter, making just one of its nine shots from the field.

Michelle Wald and Vickie Chiang wound up leading the Mustangs in scoring with 13 points each. Speckels added seven and Mellberg had four.

Homestead reached the championship game by edging No. 3 Ukiah 30-28 last Thursday in Cupertino.

Scoring was scarce in the first half, as the Mustangs led 10-8 at the break.

"We had opportunities," Nakamura said, "but we didn't take advantage of them."

The Mustangs had better luck in the second half, especially Speckels. The senior scored all eight of her points in the half.

Wald, who finished with a team-high 14 points, made a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left to give the Mustangs a four-point edge. But Ukiah (30-3) quickly closed within two and then got the ball back with six seconds remaining.

Homestead's defense took over from there. The Mustangs denied Ukiah a good look at the basket, forcing the visitors to call time out with a second on the clock. Speckels then knocked away the inbound pass to end the game.

Homestead began the NorCal playoffs March 9 with a 49-33 home win over No. 7 Paradise.

The Mustangs were sluggish at the start, unable to get on the scoreboard until midway through the first quarter when Speckels nailed a three-pointer. Homestead grabbed a one-point lead by quarter's end and went into halftime with a 23-17 edge.

The Mustangs started pulling away in the third quarter, and out-scored Paradise 26-16 in the half.

Homestead had three players score in double figures: Chiang (15 points), Speckels (13) and Marie Levey (12).