Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Saratoga's Mike Black is fouled as he moves to the basket in a key league game against Fremont. The Falcons lost a tough two-point decision to the Firebirds.

Falcons sit atop standings

Saratoga boys lose by a bucket against Fremont

By Dick Sparrer

If someone had told Saratoga girls' basketball coach Bret Yeilding back in December that his Falcons would begin February in first place in the division... well, he wouldn't have been too surprised. After all, Yeilding had expected the Falcons to contend for the title in the El Camino Division of the Santa Teresa Athletic League this winter. And that's just what they're doing.

They're doing it quite well, too. The Falcons downed leading contender Fremont 53-40 to open play last week, then crushed Mountain View 39-18.

Saratoga, 7-1 in the division and alone in first place, faced a tough challenge this week at Milpitas (6-2) on Feb. 3, 7 p.m., before hosting Gunn on Feb. 5, 7 p.m.

The Falcons took a major step into sole ownership of first place with the win over the Firebirds last week.

Senior point guard Clancy Roberts poured in 20 points, and Allison Zisko chipped in with 16 to lead the Falcons to the important victory.

Jenn Chan popped a pair of three-pointers on her way to an eight-point night. Karen Bencala added six points, Nicole LaMore two and Liana Huie one.

The Falcons jumped out to a quick 16-7 lead in the first period against the Firebirds. After matching Fremont's 15 points in the second quarter, Saratoga destroyed the Firebirds 13-2 in the third and cruised from there to the crucial victory.

Saratoga, now 13-4 for the year, closed out the week with an easy win over Mountain View. The Falcons scored just 39 points but held the Spartans to a low 18.

Bencala led the Falcons with 12 points in the win; Zisko popped 10; Roberts, eight; Robyn Katzman, six; Katie Wokas, two; and Chan, one.

Warriors romp to victory

The Westmont girls won their only game last week, pounding Prospect 60-34.

The win helped the Warriors jump to 4-2 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and to 15-5 for the year.

Westmont faces a tough test this week. The Warriors will visit Santa Teresa on Feb. 4, 7 p.m., before hosting unbeaten Mitty on Feb. 7, 7 p.m., in a crucial league test.

Senior forward Melissa Newberg poured in 19 points, and sophomore guard Sheryl Mahaffey added 13 to lead the Warriors to the lopsided win.

Newberg hit a couple of threes among her six field goals, and she added five points at the free-throw line to finish with 19 in the game. Mahaffey buried three three-pointers.

Zuleeka Mohamed chipped in with eight points for the Warriors; Alyssa Parsons had seven; Sabine Bosklopper, six; Emillia Ortiz, three; and Lauren Costanzo and Melissa Taylor, two apiece.

The Warriors opened up a commanding 19-2 lead in the first period and never looked back. Prospect cut the lead by two in the second quarter, but Westmont unloaded 18-6 in the third to take control of the game.

Jennifer Sitter, Edina Blazevic and Kim Owens scored six points each in the loss for the Panthers.

Prospect slipped to 1-6 in the division later in the week after losing 42-39 to Santa Teresa. Erica Schultz led the Panthers with eight points, and Sitter finished with seven, including a three-pointer.

Elizabeth Harkins and Kimi Ozawa added six point apiece in the loss, Owens had five, Christina Connery hit four and Adela Sojtaric had two.

Tough loss for Falcons

The Saratoga boys suffered their first loss of the league season, and it was a tough one to lose for the Falcons.

Saratoga dropped a 46-44 decision to Fremont last week to slip to 5-1 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL and to 13-6 for the year.

The Falcons were down by six at the first buzzer but battled back to tie it by intermission, 20-20. Saratoga jumped out to a six-point lead in the third quarter, but the Falcons were outscored 19-11 in the fourth to lose by two.

Luke Weger finished with 16 points, including a three-pointer, to lead all Falcons on the scoring chart.

Mike Black supported with 10 points in the game, and Corey Schwaderer added eight. Micah Weger had six points for the Falcons, and Matt Garrapolo and Ryan Anderson had two points apiece.

The Falcons, who faced a bye last Friday, will try to get back on the winning track this week when they visit Mountain View on Feb. 4, 7 p.m., before hosting Gunn on Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Panthers fall

A comeback came up seven points short for the Prospect boys' basketball team last week. The Panthers trailed Willow Glen by 16 points heading into the final period of their game last week, but Prospect outscored the Rams 24-15 to make a game of it before falling by seven.

Sophomore guard Thomas Turner pumped in 18 points, including a three-pointer, to lead all Prospect scorers. Barry Sharpe had three threes among his six field goals to finish with 15 points.

Girls' Soccer

Saratoga could manage just a single goal in three games last week but still pulled out two ties in the tough De Anza Division of the SCVAL.

The Falcons lost 2-0 to unbeaten St. Francis to open the week, then fought Monta Vista to a scoreless tie.

Saratoga finished the week with a 1-1 tie against Palo Alto. Senior co-captain Kristen Fellner knocked in a goal off a Lisa Kalmus assist to help the Falcons to the tie.

Saratoga is now 4-4-2 in division play and 9-5-2 for the year.

Prospect, meanwhile, posted a win and two ties to push its record to 6-0-4 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.

Ashley Bulik had a goal and two assists, and Sarah Yarnall, Kristel Munch and Mariko Yoshihara added goals to lead the Panthers to a 4-0 win over Westmont to open the week.

In a battle of the division's top two teams, Prospect battled Lincoln to a scoreless tie. The Lions came out of the game 4-0-4 in the division.

Prospect, 11-2-4 for the year, capped the week with a 1-1 tie against Del Mar. Nicole Kiyama scored off a Lindsay Spanek for Prospect's lone goal.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]