By Dick Sparrer
No one is going to catch Monta Vista in the race for the championship in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
The Matadors put the lock on the divison championship when they edged St. Francis 41-40 last week.
But second place? Well, that's still up for grabs heading into the final week of the regular season. Homestead, Los Gatos and St. Francis all have a shot at that runner-up spot, and the three of them mixed it up on the hardwood last week--mixing up the standings in the process.
St. Francis entered the week alone in second place with Gatos third and Homestead fourth. But the Lancers dropped two to slip to fourth, and Homestead won two to climb to second. Gatos split to remain alone in third.
The Cats lost 45-39 to Homestead to open the week, but they came back to knock off St. Francis 69-63.
Talented 5-foot-9 senior exchange student Nina Vinther poured in 28 points to lead the Wildcats to the important win over the Lancers.
Vinther had a three-pointer among her seven field goals and buried 13 free throws to lead all Gatos scorers in the win.
Deva Dawson was next in line with 11 points and Elizabeth Coughran and Tina Cseuz supported with nine apiece. Niki Bumbaca, Christina Cordes and Laura Raffaelli chipped in with four points each.
The Cats were down 19-14 after a period but outscored St. Francis 24-18 in the second to lead by one at the half, 38-37. Los Gatos came back to top the Lancers 18-10 in the third period and cruised from there to the win.
The Wildcats, 7-4 in the division and 19-6 for the year, had lost a tough 45-39 decision to Homestead to open the week.
Coughran led the Cats with 12 points and Dawson joined her in double digits with 10. Vinther chipped in with seven, Cseuz and Raffaelli had four apiece and Bumbaca hit two.
The Cats led this one 10-6 after a period and 31-19 at the half. But Homestead moved in front in the third quarter and padded their lead in the fourth to pull out the six-point victory.
Los Gatos was to close out the regular season at home against Monta Vista on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
Tough week for Leigh
Things were a little tougher for the division-leading Leigh girls' basketball team last week.
The Longhorns entered the week on top of the pack in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
They're still there, but two losses last week left Leigh with just a two-game lead with two games left to play in the regular season.
Leigh was upset 30-28 by Westmont, then lost 41-39 to Willow Glen at the buzzer.
Sophomore Katherine Zehrbach tossed in 13 points, but it wasn't enough for Leigh against Westmont. Sarah Griswold supported with six points for the Longhorns. Sarah Peterson, Christina Lombardo and Cassie Voelcker hit two points each and Veronica Inman added one.
Leigh trailed by just one point after a period, but led by three at intermission, 16-13. Westmont cut the lead by one in the third, then outscored Leigh 12-8 in the final period to win by two.
The Longhorns lost another two-point heartbreaker later in the week. Zehrbach buried 15 points and Inman popped 10 points, but Leigh lost 41-39 to Willow Glen.
Lombardo hit a three-pointer and finished with five points and Voelcker hit four. Griswold had a three-pointer and Peterson scored two points.
The 'Horns led 10-9 at the first buzzer and held the one-point lead through intermission. Willow Glen outscored Leigh 14-8 in the third period to go up by five, but Leigh tied it 39-39 in the fourth. The Rams scored in the final seconds, though, to win it.
Leigh slipped to 9-3 in the division and to 12-12 for the year.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 14, 1996.
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