The Cupertino Courier Important win for Mustangs Girls hold on to outlast Monta Vista By Dick Sparrer It was a game each team needed to win. The Homestead girls needed the victory because they had just suffered their first loss of the league season earlier in the week to St. Francis. And the Monta Vista girls needed the victory to climb into a second-place tie in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. But only one team can win in high school basketball, and that turned out to be good news for the Mustangs and bad news for the Matadors. Homestead pulled out a 46-44 victory over Monta Vista in a Thursday night thriller on the Matadors' floor. The Mustangs held off a late run by the Mats to clinch the win and push their season record to 19-3 and their league mark to 6-1. The Matadors slipped to 3-3 in the division and to 12-5 for the year. Homestead seemed to take command of the basketball game by outscoring the Mats 18-2 in the third period, but Monta Vista outscored the Mustangs 13-5 in the fourth, only to come up a bucket short. But that was pretty much how the game went throughout. Homestead led 15-9 at the first buzzer, but the Mats came on strong in the second period to outscore the Mustangs 20-8, good for a 29-23 halftime lead. Homestead battled back in the third and went up 41-31 heading into the fourth. There was no quit in the Matadors, though, not on this Thursday night at home. The Mats made a solid run at Homestead, but finished two points short. Michelle Wald led the Mustangs to the victory with a 13-point effort. Wald hit just one shot from the field, but calmly buried 11 free throws on her way to the 13 points. Julie Speckels and Vickie Chiang pitched in eight points apiece, Tanya Green had seven, Shelly Mellberg hit six and Julia Randall and Chris Strombel added two each. Mellberg drilled a pair of three-point buckets and Speckels hit one. Monta Vista's Anna Abatzoglou led all scorers in the game with 14 points. Tyann Taylor popped a pair of threes on her way to nine points and Janey Garrison had eight points, including a three. Kim Stocklmeir added six points, Heather Janssen hit five and Kristin Greene added two. Earlier in the week, the Mustangs lost a 50-38 decision to the Lancers. Speckels led Homestead with 13 points, Wald had nine, Chiang seven, Green four, Randall and Marie Levey two apiece and Strombel one. Over in the El Camino Division, the Lynbrook girls won twice last week, beating Los Altos 46-29 before edging Wilcox 41-34. The Vikings are now 3-5 in division play and 6-13 for the year. Julie Stevens tossed in 14 points, including two three-pointers, to lead the Vikings to the win over the Eagles. Mari Gomes poured in a team-high 17 points to lead Lynbrook to the seven-point win over Wilcox later in the week. Cupertino split in division play, beating Mountain View 40-24 but losing 40-33 to Milpitas. The Pioneers are also 3-5 in El Camino play and 9-9 for the year. Margaret Donoghue jammed seven buckets to finish with 14 points to lead the Pioneers past the Spartans. Allison Mine tossed in seven points, Trishaun Roberts six, Kellie Utsumi, Stephanie French and Maria Gonzalez four each and Tiffany Campbell one. Roberts had pumped in 12 points earlier in the week, but the Pioneers lost to Milpitas 40-33. Donoghue and French had seven points apiece, Mine hit a three-pointer and Campbell and Gonzalez had two each. In boys basketball action, Monta Vista rolled to a 52-46 El Camino Division win over Homestead, first league win of the season. [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, February 3, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.