The Cupertino Courier Mats, Mustangs look like contenders By Dick Sparrer Homestead and Monta Vista are on a collision course. The two girls basketball powers will meet at least twice during the regular season. And those two games could go a long way in determining who wins the title in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this winter. But when the two clubs participated in the Monta Vista Invitational last week, a De Anza Division preview just wasn't meant to be. The clubs started on opposite sides of the tourney bracket and remained that way as they played through the three-day event at Monta Vista. The Matadors won two straight before losing in the finals to Leland to settle for second in the tournament they hosted. And the Mustangs sandwiched a tough loss to Leland between a couple of victories to finish third overall in the tourney that featured some of the area's finest girls basketball talent. Both teams ended up going 2-1 in the tourney, and both teams placed a player on the all-tournament team--Monta Vista's Kim Stocklmeir and Homestead's Vickie Chiang. And both teams continue to play well in the preseason as they look ahead to their Jan. 8 clash with one another. Matadors second Monta Vista opened the tourney with wins over Santa Teresa (72-33) and Santa Clara (48-30) to earn a place in the championship game against Leland. The Mats were up a point after a period against the Chargers, but trailed by three at the half and by eight after three quarters before getting outscored 49-31 in the fourth. Stocklmeir poured in 11 points to lead all scorers for the Matadors in the title game. Janey Garrison tossed in eight points, Heather Jannsen six, Kristin Greene four and Tyann Taylor three. The Matadors, 4-2 for the year, had pounded Santa Clara by 18 a game earlier to clinch the spot in the finals. Anna Abatzoglou cashed in for 14 points to lead the Mats, and Stocklmeir added 12. Garrison had nine points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Taylor hit eight. Greene and Janssen added two points apiece and Allison Thee had one. Stocklmeir tossed in 16 points and Garrison and Janssen drilled 15 apiece to lead Monta Vista to the 72-33 win over Santa Teresa in the tourney opener. Garrison buried three three-pointers. Abatzoglou joined the three in double digits with 12 points. Taylor and Thee had four apiece and Greene, Helen Jang and Casandra Cerros added two each. Monta Vista features a talented cast of returners from a club that won the division championship a year ago. Stocklmeir was the league's most valuable player last winter and was joined on the all-league squad by Abatzoglou (first team), Janssen (second team) and Garrison and Taylor (both honorable mention). Vicki Wang joins the varsity this season after winning all-league honors on the junior varsity. Second-year coach Denise Eachus, who led the Mats to an 11-1 finish in the league a year ago, returns to lead Monta Vista in its bid to defend its championship. Mustangs third Shelly Mellberg picked a fine time for her biggest game of the Monta Vista Invitational, pouring in 14 points to lead Homestead to a 67-34 win over Santa Clara in the third-place game. Diana Lee supported with 12 points for the Mustangs and Julie Speckels popped 11 points to finish in double figures. Michelle Wald supported with nine points for Homestead. Julia Randall added six, Nadja Fabian and Marie Levey four apiece, Tanya Green three and Rachel Fredrickson and Stephanie Malcomb two apiece. Things weren't quite as easy a game earlier. The Mustangs, now 8-2, lost a 41-40 heartbreaker to eventual tourney champ Leland. Homestead trailed by three after a period, by one at the half and by three again after the third quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Chargers 9-7 in the fourth, but came up a point short. Chiang buried 15 points to lead all Homestead scorers and Wald tossed in 13. Speckels and Green hit four each and Mellberg and Randall added two apiece. Homestead had opened the tourney with a lopsided 69-33 win over Milpitas. Chiang went for 18 points and Speckels drained a pair of threes on her way to 11. Randall had eight points, Wald seven and Levey, Mellberg, Lee and Malcolm four each. Green supported with three points and Fredrickson, Fabian and Chris Strombel had two each. Mustangs contenders First-year coach Wade Nakamura considers his Mustangs to be title contenders this season, but he takes it one step further. Not only does Nakamura figure Homestead and Monta Vista will join St. Francis as league title favorites, he sees the Mustangs winning it all. Nakamura, who shares the coaching chores with Bob Hayamizu this season, thinks his club will win the division crown and be among the contenders for a Central Coast Section title. "We're looking forward to a great season," said Nakamura. "We have all five starters returning." The comeback starters include all-league returners Wald, Speckels and Chiang. Wald and Speckels won all-league honors for a Homestead club that posted a 19-7 record and made it to the second round of the CCS play-offs. Chiang was an all-league honorable mention pick. Mellberg, Lee, Levey and Green are other top returners for the Mustangs this season. "We have a nucleus of two all-leaguers and some promising underclassmen," said Nakamura. "So we have a good mix of veterans and underclassmen." Randall and Malcolm are top young prospects. "We have a solid group of perimeter players (Wald, Speckels and Mellberg)," said Nakamura. "(Green, Levey and Randall) form the post play that may have been lacking last year. (Lee) provides senior leadership and a back-up point guard off the bench." Pioneers win The Cupertino girls ran their record to 4-2 with a solid 50-23 win over Silver Creek last week. Senior center Trishaun Roberts tossed in 12 points to lead the Pioneers to the victory. Kellie Utsumi and Stephanie French supported with nine points apiece in the win and Margaret Donoghue added eight. Freshman Allison Mine had six points, Tiffany Campbell and Marian Galam two apiece and Cynthia Cardona and Robin Ellis one each. Utsumi tops a solid list of returners at Cupertino this season, and head coach Tracey Yamaguchi is looking forward to a successful season in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL. "With the loss of only one player and eight returning players, we look pretty good," said Yamaguchi. "We also have four returning starters." "The team looked good in the summer," he added, "and we'll be very competitive with the addition of two freshmen and experienced junior varsity starters." Utsumi was an all-league honorable mention pick last season, and she's joined this year by other varsity returners. [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, December 16, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.