Leland coach Wade Nakamura summed up the meeting with Mitty simply as, "We ran into a machine." Nakamura was realistic going into the game, knowing that the possibility of taking Mitty down was slim, but he had hoped to compete and give the Monarchs a good contest.

Unfortunately, the Chargers had to fight the injury bug and sickness bug in addition to the depth and quality of Mitty's team. The game was extremely physical as well, and that allowed the bigger Monarchs to push around the smaller Chargers, putting Leland at a distinct disadvantage. The result was a 64-22 runaway that ended Leland's season.

The No. 9 seeded Chargers had fared better earlier in the week when they took on No. 8 Palo Alto and beat the Vikings 52-38 on their own court in CCS first round action.

The offensive production against Mitty was at a premium with only three Chargers putting points on the board. George was tops, tossing in 10 points. Sophomore guards Kristen Yoshioka and Meggie Yoshioka dropped in seven and five, respectively.

The Chargers had a little extra incentive when they traveled to Palo Alto. It was the Vikings who knocked the Chargers out of the CCS playoffs last year in a quarterfinal game and Leland was hoping to avenge that loss. Additional motivation came from the fact that Nakamura and his team felt they had deserved a better seeding in the playoffs and wanted to make a statement.

The outcome was never in doubt as Leland built up a 20-13 halftime bulge and coasted to the win as Nakamura freely substituted throughout the fourth quarter.

George led the offensive effort with 14 points but got balanced support from her teammates. Junior Amber Barbieri knocked in 13 points while K. Yoshioka fired in 12. Junior Mika Yanai put in 10 with eight coming from the free-throw line. Sophomore Amanda Do added three.

Although the loss to Mitty a game later was not easy to swallow, Nakamura saw some positive things from it. "It helped expose some of our needs to get where we want to be," the coach pointed out. "All things considered, though, we had a great season."

The Chargers were co-champions of the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with an 11-1 league mark and finished 17-9 overall.

The playoffs marked the end of the line for George and seniors Christine Chang and Kelly Ricco. But Nakamura will welcome back the Yoshioka sisters, Yanai, Do and five other varsity players next season.

Lady Bruins split

Branham had a very similar experience in its trip to the CCS Division III girls basketball playoffs. The No. 9 seeded Bruins rolled over No. 8 Terra Nova on the road with a solid 50-41 win and then ran into No. 1 St. Ignatius in the quarterfinals and suffered a 66-32 defeat.

A tenacious Bruins defense held Terra Nova to only 10 points in the first half while a potent offense led by junior center Paulina Kotula and sophomore guard Oly Larkin racked up 27 points in the half. Kotula and Larkin ended the night with 17 points apiece.

Senior Christina Griffith put in six points while junior Cortnie Kampe and freshman Catherine Crandall dropped in four each. Junior Melissa Enko contributed two.

"We knew St. Ignatius would be tough," Branham coach Marv Kidwiler said. "They have big players inside, but they really did not hurt us because we shot well from the outside. Our defense is set up such that you have to beat us from the outside and they did that with good outside shooting."

"I was proud of our team, though, because we hung in there to the very end and stuck to our game plan. They were just a better team."

Larkin and Kampe led the effort, tossing in nine points each. Kotula was close behind with eight. Sammy Snook dumped in three, Griffith contributed two, and Crandall sank a free throw.

"The experience gave us a good idea of the standard for postseason play," the coach added. "And it helped us know what level we need to come up to."

"We had a good season with a good group of girls that always had a good attitude."

The Bruins finished in fourth place in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL with a 9-5 league record and 15-10 overall.

Only Griffith played her final game for the Bruins in the playoffs. Kotula, Larkin, Kampe and seven other underclassmen will be back on the floor for Branham next season.