Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Homestead's Vickie Chiang drives to the hoop for two of her eight points in last week's 51-44 CCS semifinal win over St. Francis. The Mustangs came back to beat Leland for the section championship.

Mustangs clinch CCS crown

Monta Vista falls in Division I semis

By DICK SPARRER

Julie Speckels and Michelle Wald didn't want a repeat of 1998.

The two were juniors on the Homestead girls basketball team that lost in the second round of the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs.

And they were hoping to lead the Mustangs to a better finish as seniors in 1999.

Well, they certainly did!

Speckels, Wald and the rest of the Mustangs rolled through the CCS field to a Division II championship and to a berth in the upcoming Northern California playoffs.

Homestead pounded league rival St. Francis 51-44 in the section semifinals, then edged Leland 45-43 in the title game to clinch the school's third CCS girls basketball crown.

The Saturday evening victory not only secured the CCS title for the Mustangs, but gave them a home game for the first round of NorCal playoffs. Homestead, now 28-3, will host a Northern California on March 9, 7 p.m.

Speckels and Wald had played key roles on the 1997-98 team that posted a 19-7 record and played two games in the CCS playoffs. And they were key players again this winter as the Mustangs improved on that performance.

Speckels poured in a game-high 18 points and Wald added 10 points to lead the Mustangs to the thrilling win over the Chargers.

Junior Marie Levey supported with eight points, sophomore Julia Randall had six and junior guard Vickie Chiang hit three points for the Mustangs in the championship game.

The Mustangs moved into the finals with a convincing 51-44 win over St. Francis in the CCS semifinals earlier in the week.

It was the third time the clubs had met this season. The Lancers had beaten the Mustangs early in the year in league play, but Homestead came back to top St. Francis a couple of weeks back to clinch the championship in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Homestead made it two straight over the Lancers with the seven-point win in the CCS semifinals.

Speckels was the big scorer for the Mustangs in the win over SF. The senior standout had a three-pointer among her five field goals and she added five points at the free-throw line to wind up with 16 points for the night.

Randall joined Speckels in twin figures with 15 points. Chiang added eight points, Wald seven, Levey and Chris Strombel two apiece and Tayna Green one.

In other CCS action, the Monta Vista girls played their way into the Division I semifinals, but lost a tough 50-46 decision to St. Ignatius.

Kim Stocklmeir poured in 14 points to lead all Monta Vista scorers in the game. The senior co-captain buried seven buckets from the field to finish with team-high scoring honors.

Heather Janssen and Janey Garrison tossed in 11 points apiece for the Matadors. Garrison, another senior co-captain, canned a three-pointer.

Helen Jang tossed in four points for the Mats, and Anna Abatzoglou and Tyann Taylor added three points apiece. Taylor hit a three-pointer.

The loss left the team 19-7 for the year. The Matadors had opened the playoffs with a 51-36 win over Milpitas before falling to the Cats. SI later lost 65-37 to Mitty in the CCS Division I finals.

Seniors Stocklmeir, Garrison, Abatzoglou, Taylor and Allison Thee, who just a year ago were members of a Monta Vista club that won a De Anza Division title, were all playing their final game for the Matadors.

But head coach Denise Eachus has good reason to be optimistic about the future of the program at Monta Vista with juniors Janssen, Jang and co-captain Kristin Greene topping a solid list of returners next season.

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