It took two overtimes before a winner was determined, then it was Leland (10-4, 2-0) pulling out a 51-43 victory over Westmont (8-8, 0-2).

From the opening tip-off, the teams put on a show of tough, aggressive play on both ends of the court, forcing turnovers and grabbing steals.

Leland was intent on working its bread and butter offense, moving the ball around the perimeter and looking for the chance to slip the ball into one of their two talented post players, Liz Widgren or Jackie George. Westmont was just as intent on preventing that from happening and tried to smother the inside with tenacious defense, but Widgren and George managed to drop in five points each in the first quarter.

Westmont countered with an outside attack as Rachel Gellman had the hot hand, hitting the first eight points for the Warriors including a couple of three-balls. The quarter ended with Leland holding a 15-12 advantage.

Warriors take lead

The Warriors got a shot of momentum when Evelyn Lopez came off the bench late in the second quarter and dropped in four points, two of them coming with just two seconds left in the half to bring Westmont to within a point at intermission, 23-22.

Defense continued to be the story of the game after intermission with neither team able to score until midway through the third quarter. Gellman drove the lane to lay in two, fired in a three-pointer, and then slipped a pass to Marie Rippen, who laid the ball off the glass for two more, giving the Warriors their biggest lead at 29-24.

The Chargers were not to be denied as they came roaring back. The Chargers were finally able to break Widgren loose as she hit six unanswered points to give Leland a 30-29 lead late in the quarter. But as the clock wound down, Ashley Vierra fired up a three-pointer that rattled in and the Chargers found themselves looking at a 32-30 deficit heading into the final quarter.

Leland put together a run midway through the quarter with Kristen Yoshioka grabbing a steal and driving in on the breakaway to lay in two points. Widgren hit a bucket from down under and then George dropped in four points, giving the Leland a 38-36 lead with 1:45 left. Then things go a little wild.

The Warriors forced Leland into a shot-clock violation. Leland stole the inbound pass but missed the shot. Westmont then turned the ball over and Leland returned the favor. Finally, with 24 seconds left Linley Takaki nailed a three-pointer to put the Warriors up 39-38, setting up a wild flurry of action at the end of regulation.

Westmont was not in a penalty situation, so in an effort to run out the clock and prevent Leland from scoring the Warriors committed a foul. However, the foul was ruled to be intentional, giving Leland two free throws and possession of the ball with 18 seconds left.

George went to the line and was able to convert a free throw, knotting the score at 39-39. Westmont then stole the inbound pass but Gellman was called for traveling while driving the lane. Leland's desperation shot at the buzzer fell short, and the teams were headed for overtime.

It's overtime

Both teams appeared to be drained from regulation play and could not find the range. Leland's Mika Yanai hit a short jumper and then Westmont's Takaki drove down the lane to lay one in, making the score 41-41 after the first OT.

The second overtime looked like it would be a duplicate of the first when neither team could get the ball in the hoop until Leland took control with 1:38 left. Widgren and George began to work their game and combined for eight points, giving the Chargers a lead that they would hold onto for the win.

Widgren led the Chargers with 23 points, but they didn't come easy. George added 16 from down low. Leland's outside offense was not quite as productive as it has been with Yanai and K. Yoshioka putting in five points each and Kaleen Ugai adding two.

With the win, Leland moved to 2-0 in division play after opening league play with a 39-20 win over Oak Grove earlier in the week. Widgren took scoring honors in that game, netting 17 points. George and Yanai each had nine.

Mustangs top Bruins

Pioneer opened Santa Teresa Division play with a 65-49 win over Branham. The Bruins came out fired up and were able to outscore Pioneer to take a 16-13 first-quarter lead. The potent offense of the Mustangs kicked into gear in the second quarter when Pioneer outscored the Bruins by nine points to take lead 33-37 at intermission.

The Mustangs continued to pull away in the second half, building their lead with the help of Gina Biviano, who led all scorers with 26 points. Biviano leads the Santa Teresa Division in scoring with a 15.8 points per game average.

Two other Mustangs were in double figures with Brenae Perkins tossing in a season high 15 points while grabbing six steals and Shawn Killin dumping in 10 from down low while playing tough defense. Camille Brown dished out five assists to match her five points. Samantha Tsukiji added a three-point bucket and the Mustangs got two points each from Angelica Woods, Stacy Ajoku and Jessica Rossi.

"Pioneer is a tough team," said Branham coach Floyd Alexander. "We had it down to three points at one point, but then they picked and rolled us to death."

The Bruins had two players break the double digit barrier with Oly Larkin leading the way with 15 points and Paulina Kotula following closely with 12 points. Kotula pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds. Kotula is the division leader in rebounds.

Renee Kowar and Brittani Kampe put in six points each and Melissa Bottel added five. Desiree Durham and Christina Griffith dropped in two each and Deseray Castillo tossed in a free throw to complete the scoring.

Pioneer sits at 2-0 in league play after pounding Andrew Hill 72-37 later in the week. Four Mustangs reached double figures with Biviano and Killin sharing team-high honors with 14 points each. Brown fired in 13 and Tsukiji put in 11, including two three-pointers. There plenty of other Mustangs in on the scoring action with Perkins getting eight, Jessica Curry six, Stephanie Habian two, Ajoku two, Renee Cummings one and Stephanie Morales one.

Branham let a tough one slip away when the Bruins were edged 71-69 in overtime by Independence.

"It was a tough loss for us," Alexander said. "We had a nine-point lead with five minutes left and then they got hot and started hitting everything. They couldn't miss."

The Bruins had a strong offensive performance with four players in double digits. Larkin took honors again, tossing in 21 points while dealing seven assists and grabbing eight steals. Kotula had a monster game, firing in 19 points while pulling down 13 rebounds. She also blocked seven shots, handed out nine assists, and nabbed two steals for good measure. Kowar popped in 13 and Bottel had a "great game," laying in 10 points.

Alexander was disappointed with the loss. "If we play the kind of defense we are capable of playing, we should beat them next time at home."

Thursday, Jan. 15

Wrestling—Branham at Andrew Hill, 6:30 p.m.

Girls soccer—Pioneer at Leigh, 3:15 p.m.; Leland at Santa Teresa, 3:15 p.m.; Branham at Oak Grove, 3:15 p.m.

Girls basketball—Pioneer at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 16

Boys basketball—Branham at Prospect 7:30 p.m.; Westmont at Leland, 7:30 p.m.; Piedmont Hills at Pioneer, 7:30 p.m.

Girls basketball—Leland at Del Mar, 7 p.m.

Boys soccer—Leland at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.; Branham at Willow Glen, 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 20

Boys basketball—Leland at Branham, 7 p.m.

Girls basketball—Branham at Andrew Hill, 7 p.m.

Girls soccer—Prospect at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.; Westmont at Branham, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 21

Boys basketball—Pioneer at Oak Grove, 7 p.m.

Boys soccer—Overfelt at Leland, 3:15 p.m.; Leigh at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.

Wrestling—Leland at Mt. Pleasant, 6:30 p.m.