But none of it was in the cards for the Leland girls basketball team when the brackets were drawn up for the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs.

Leland drew a disappointing No. 9 seed, which means that the Chargers open the playoffs on the road against a pretty solid team in No. 8 seed Palo Alto.

The Chargers, despite finishing in a first-place tie with Leigh in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, will open the playoffs on the road this week. Leland, 16-8 for the year after an 11-1 league season, will open at Palo Alto (18-9) on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the CCS quarterfinals on Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m. at Notre Dame-Belmont, most likely against No. 1 seed Mitty (22-5).

Talented 6-foot-1 senior center Jackie George will lead the Chargers into the playoff hunt. Despite an early season injury, George leads the club in scoring, blocked shots and rebounds.

Kristen Yoshioka joins George as a scoring threat. The 5-foot-3 sophomore guard is especially deadly from behind the three-point arc.

Mika Yanai also figures among the Leland scoring leaders and is the team leader in steals and assists. Yanai and 5-foot-10 junior forward Hilary Barnes support George on the boards.

K. Yoshioka and her twin sister, Meggie, are among the team leaders in assists and steals.

Seniors Christine Chang and Kelly Ricco, juniors Samantha Peters and Amber Barbieri and sophomores Amanda Do, Pam Wolfe and Jovanna Cobos round out the squad that head coach Wade Nakamura will lead to CCS.

Leland finished off league play last week with wins over Pioneer (57-38) and Westmont (53-40) to wrap up an 11-1 season. The only mar on the league record for the Chargers was a 46-41 loss to Leigh the week before. Leigh also finished 11-1 to get a share of the championship.

Leland had opened the league season by reeling off nine straight victories.

Bruins in playoffs

The Branham girls also won a place in the postseason by posting a 9-5 record in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and a 13-9 mark overall.

The Bruins drew the No. 9 seed in the CCS Division III playoffs and were to open on the road on Wednesday night at Terra Nova (13-14). The winner will face No. 1 seed St. Ignatius on Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Branham ended up fourth in the Santa Teresa Division behind Santa Teresa (13-1), Gunderson (11-3) and Mt. Pleasant (10-4). The Bruins wrapped up the year with a 54-45 win over Silver Creek, but lost 51-46 to Gunderson two nights earlier.

Junior center Paulina Kotula, who tossed in 17 points in the loss to the Grizzlies, has been the scoring leader all season long for the Bruins. She also tops the club in rebounds and steals.

Oly Larkin, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, leads the squad in assists and is second to Kotula in scoring, rebounding and steals.

Soph Sammy Snook is also a factor for the Bruins on the boards and from the floor as a scorer, and junior guard Cortnie Kampe is a floor leader for Branham.

Senior Christina Griffith, junior Melissa Enko, sophomore Kristina Wiedemann and freshmen Sabraya Robbins, Catherine Crandall and Bina Madzar round out the young squad that head coach Marv Kidwiler will take to the playoffs.

Rebozzi leads Pioneer

Sophomore Michele Rebozzi poured in 21 points, but the Pioneer girls basketball team dropped a 57-49 decision to Piedmont Hills to wind up the Mt. Hamilton Division season.

The Mustangs finished the year 1-11 in the division, but a squad that features six sophomores, a junior and only three seniors gained valuable experience in the 2004­05 campaign.

Rebozzi capped a solid sophomore year with her 21 points, including 10 from the free-throw line.

Junior Renee Cummings added eight points for the Mustangs and soph Emily Mather had seven. Samantha Tsukiji hit five points, Steffi Mattern and Courtney Mesa had three apiece and Angelica Woods added two.