It had all the potential of being an exciting contest since the programs both have rich traditions of producing competitive and quality basketball teams, and nobody went home disappointed.

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 battle continued to be tough throughout the second quarter. Neither team could find any rhythm and defense prevailed. Widgren had opportunities from close in but could not get her shots to fall.

The Warriors got a shot of momentum when Evelyn Lopez came off the bench late in the 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. Westmont's Ann Baumgardner and Ashley Vierra had done an outstanding job defending the potent Leland post offense, but 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, Vierra fired up a long range 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.

Gellman was the most productive Warrior, firing in 15 points. Takaki finished with seven points while Vierra and Lesley Makishima put in five apiece. The Westmont scoring was completed by Lopez with four, Megan Higbee with three, and two each by Baumgardner and Rippen.

Dons top Warriors

Westmont dropped to 0-2 in the division. The Warriors had opened league with a 45-38 loss to Del Mar. Gellman provided the offensive punch, firing in 12 points. Takaki tossed in nine.

Ali Mollet pumped in 12 points and Gladia Castro and Danielle Hudson popped 10 apiece to lead the Dons to the league-season opening win over the Warriors. Lisa Nwoye and Nadia Walton supported with four points apiece.

Del Mar slipped to 1-1 in the division and to 9-8 for the year later in the week when the Dons suffered a 55-45 loss to Leigh, despite an 18-point night by Mollet. The 5-foot-9 senior guard pitched in a couple of three-pointers among her six field goals and she added four points at the free-throw line.

Castro and Walton chipped in with nine points apiece, Joanna Gomez had four, Nwoye hit three and Hudson added two. Walton popped a three-pointer.

Bruins lose opener

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.

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.

It had all the potential of being an exciting contest since the programs both have rich traditions of producing competitive and quality basketball teams, and nobody went home disappointed.