Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Los Gatos and Leigh stars Liz Coughran (50) and Kathy Zehrbach (33) battle for a rebound in last week's nonleague game. Leigh pulled out a 52-43 win over the Cats to improve to 10-0 for the year.

Leigh girls beat Los Gatos

By Dick Sparrer

John Henry Mackey was one happy guy this Christmas, and it had nothing to do with what packages were waiting for him under the tree on Christmas morning.

Rather, it was a late gift he received from his Leigh girls' basketball team four days after Christmas that pleased Mackey so much--a 52-43 win over Los Gatos.

What made the victory so sweet was that it was the 10th in as many games this season for the Longhorns, and that it came against the school where Mackey coached for 13 seasons from 1976-88.

It wasn't exactly a homecoming for Mackey, who led the then-Los Gatos Orange Crush to Northern California championships in '82 and '84--he had already made his return to the Los Gatos floor as the Fremont coach a few years earlier. But it certainly was for his assistants Rich Prsha and Mike McQuade, both Gatos grads who later coached at the school.

"Rich and Mike were really excited about coming back," Mackey said. "And it was exciting because the game was played over Christmas break. There were a lot of alumni there, and we had an excellent crowd."

Leigh and Los Gatos treated that crowd to an exciting game, too.

"It was a good game," said Mackey, whose club led by just a point at intermission, 25-24. But the Longhorns pulled away in the second half to win by nine.

"It was a real good team effort," said Mackey. "But, then, that's how we've been playing. This is a real hard-working group of kids."

Senior Melody Page poured in 22 points to lead all Leigh scorers in the win. Junior guard Lauren Griswold came off the bench to dump in 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and senior Kathy Zehrbach pitched in 12 points. Dana Nisich rounded out the scoring with five points.

Liz Coughran had the hot hand for the Wildcats, leading Gatos with 16 points. The hot-shooting senior hit four three-pointers.

Erin Cushing finished the night with 11 points to join Coughran in double digits. Gilian Waddas and Niki Bumbaca popped seven points apiece, each with a three-pointer, and Kristin Ozawa had two points.

Leigh led 11-8 after a period, but Gatos trimmed the lead to one by the half, 25-24. The Longhorns outscored Gatos 13-8 in the third, though, to stretch their lead to six, then topped the Cats 14-11 in the fourth to win by nine.

The win helped Leigh improve to 10-0 in nonleague action as the Longhorns prepare for the rugged trip through the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

"We're good, but we're not quite on the level with Mitty and Presentation," Mackey admitted.

He and his Longhorns will find out in a hurry just how good that Mitty team is. Leigh opens league play at Mitty on Jan. 7, 7 p.m., before hosting Leland on Jan. 9, 7 p.m.

Los Gatos slipped to 7-3 with the loss to Leigh, but the Wildcats rebounded quickly with a tight 36-35 win over Saratoga to wrap up the preseason with an 8-3 record.

Coughran poured in 17 points, including a three, and Bumbaca had three threes among her four field goals to finish with 11 points. Trina Mills and Christy Zebb added four points apiece.

Gatos jumped out to a five-point lead after a period and upped that to seven by intermission, 25-18. The Falcons trimmed the lead by five in the third quarter, though, but could get only one back in the fourth to lose by one.

The Wildcats will now take their 8-3 record into the tough De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and, like Leigh, they open up right away with a powerhouse.

The Cats will hit the road to visit a strong Monta Vista club on Jan. 6, 7 p.m., before facing a bye later in the week.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]