Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Lea Tauriello

Battling for a rebound in the Wildcat Shootout is Aaron Jahn of the Los Gatos boys' basketball team. Jahn and the Cats opened last week with a win over Leigh before losing three straight at the Ed Hopkins Classic.

Coughran, Zebb spark Cats to a tourney title

By Dick Sparrer

The 1997-98 season isn't quite three weeks old yet, but already the Los Gatos girls' basketball players are champions.

Oh, they haven't already clinched a league crown, but the Wildcats have played their way to a tournament championship, winning three straight last week to claim the title in the Oak Grove Tournament.

The Cats crushed Alisal 53-26, edged Monte Vista Christian 44-42 and nudged Robert Louis Stevenson 55-52 to nail the Oak Grove championship.

Liz Coughran and Christy Zebb, a pair of 6-foot seniors, led the Wildcats to the tourney crown and won spots on the all-tournament team list for their efforts.

Coughran was the big scorer for the Cats throughout the tourney, pouring 47 points in the three games, including a team-high 22 in the title game against Stevenson.

Zebb and Niki Bumbaca tossed in 10 points apiece to join Coughran in double digits. Kristin Ozawa tossed in seven points, and Trina Mills added six. Both Ozawa and Mills hit three-pointers.

The Wildcats opened up a 11-point lead by intermission, 28-17, and took that lead into the fourth, when they matched Stevenson's 18 points in the third.

Gatos was outscored 17-9 in the fourth quarter but held on for the three-point victory to clinch the tournament championship.

Los Gatos opened the tourney with a lopsided 53-26 win over Alisal. Gatos went in front 14-2 in the first period and led 28-9 at the half on the road to the one-sided victory.

Coughran and Bumbaca shared team-high scoring honors with 13 points; Mills supported with nine; Zebb had seven; Erin Cushing, four; Mariko Yuki, three; and Ozawa and Sara Clark, two each.

The Wildcats pulled out a 44-42 come-from-behind win over Monte Vista Christian in the semifinals.

The Cats were even at 9-9 after a period and led but a bucket at the half, 20-18. But Monte Vista Christian moved in front 31-30 heading into the fourth.

Los Gatos battled back, though, topping Monte Vista 14-11 in the final period to clinch the win and the berth in the finals.

Coughran led the Cats with 12 points, and Zebb fired in 10. Bumbaca finished with nine points, including a three-pointer, and Mills had six points. Ozawa added four points, and Shannon Hart hit two.

The Cats opened the week with a 48-39 win over Harbor in a nonleague game in Santa Cruz. Coughran jammed eight buckets to lead the Cats with 19 points. Zebb fired in nine points, Bumbaca, eight; Mills, four; Ozawa, four; and Cushing, two.

Los Gatos, now 6-1 for the year, was to visit San Lorenzo Valley on Monday before breaking for Christmas. The Cats will be back on the court on Dec. 29 when they host Leigh at 7 p.m.

Cats beat Leigh

The Los Gatos boys, meanwhile, opened the week with a solid 50-38 win over Leigh, but they lost three straight at the Ed Hopkins Classic in Fairfield to slip to 5-7 for the year.

Senior guard Mike McSweeney poured in four three-pointers and finished with 14 points to lead the Wildcats to the win over Longhorns on Monday. Steve Bidermann tossed in 10 points for the Cats, and Matt Gingery dropped a three on his way to nine points.

Pat Bartelmie added seven points for the Wildcats, Jonathan Groff and Collin Black had four apiece and David Whiteside hit two. Josh Kreuzer had 13 points to lead all Leigh scorers in the game.

The win pushed the Cats over the .500 mark for the season at 5-4, but Gatos lost three in a row at the Hopkins to drop back below the watermark.

The Wildcats dropped a tough 50-47 decision to Pinole Valley in the tournament's seventh-place game. McSweeney bombed 14 points and Bartelmie added 11, but it wasn't enough for the Cats.

Groff tossed in six points, Whiteside five, Aaron Jahn and Bidermann four apiece and Black, Sky Swab and Paul Bauer one each.

A game earlier, Los Gatos lost 64-53 to Willow Glen, the same team the Cats fell to in the finals of the Westmont Tournament.

Groff was the scoring leader for Gatos with 12 points, and McSweeney finished with 10. Bartelmie hit eight, Jahn six, Whiteside and Bidermann four apiece, Bauer three and Black, Swab and Darin Mills two each. Whiteside and Jahn each drilled three-pointers.

The Cats will be back in action Dec. 27-30 when they take part in the Soquel Winter Classic. The tournament will their last tune-up before the season begins in January.

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