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Big games this week for girls, boys hoop teams at Saratoga
By Dick Sparrer
To remain in contention with the top teams in the league, a basketball team has to beat those squads in the second division.
And that's just what the Saratoga girls basketball team did last week when the Falcons routed Monta Vista 50-36 and Santa Clara 52-36 to remain hot in the race with Milpitas for the championship in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
The Falcons improved to 8-2 in the division with the two victories, and will take their shot at unbeaten Milpitas this week when the Trojans bring their 10-0 mark to Saratoga on Feb. 6, at 7 p.m.
Saratoga will be on the road for a key game against Mountain View (7-3) on Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m., before wrapping up the regular season at home against Wilcox on Feb. 12 and at Cupertino on Feb. 14.
Sophomore point guard Victoria Liu poured in 30 points in two games to lead the Falcons to the pair of wins last week.
Liu pitched in 17 points, including five three-pointers, to lead the Falcons to the 14-point win over Monta Vista.
Senior forward Karen Woo finished with 12 points on four threes to lend scoring support for the Falcons.
Bryte Nielsen chipped in with eight points in the win, Julia Anderson had six, Jordan Henry hit four and Tiffany Tan added three.
The Falcons were actually down a point at the first buzzer, and they led by just a point at intermission, 18-17. But Saratoga outscored the Mats 18-14 in the third and 14-5 in the fourth on the road to the important victory.
It was Nielsen, the freshman forward, who had the hot hand for the Falcons in the win over Santa Clara. Nielsen had a pair of threes among her five field goals and she added five points at the free-throw line on the way to a 17-point night.
Liu finished with 13 points, including a three, and Woo buried three threes to nail nine points.
Tan canned five points for the Falcons, Selen Erdal had four and Natalie Zisko and Diana Shih hit two apiece.
The Falcons and Bruins were locked in an 11-11 tie after a period, but Saratoga pulled away by outscoring Santa Clara 28-12 over the next two quarters.
Boys win, too
The Saratoga boys played just one game last week, but the Falcons pulled out a tight 48-46 win over Santa Clara to hold onto second place in the El Camino Division.
The win helped the Falcons improve to 5-3 in the division, and they trail only Homestead in the league standings. The Mustangs, 9-0 in the division, will visit the Falcons at 7 p.m. on Feb. 5. Saratoga travels to Mountain View on Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Senior guard Justin Zebb poured in 16 points to lead the Falcons to the win over Santa Clara last week. Zebb had a three among his six field goals and he added three points at the charity line.
Junior guard Matt Ashburn finished with 10 points, including three threes, to join Zebb in double digits, and Lawrence Hui also had 10 points.
Mark Elfving chipped in with six points in the win, Eric Lee hit four and Greg Van Hoesen added two.
The Falcons went up by 10 points by intermission, then held on as Santa Clara chipped away at the lead in the second half. But Saratoga managed to hold on for the two-point win.
Warriors win in OT
Clay Tolbert and Brandon Sligh pumped in 15 points apiece to lead the Westmont boys basketball team to a 48-45 overtime win over Santa Teresa last Friday.
The Warriors jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first period, but the Saints tied the score when they outpointed Westmont 17-6 in the fourth quarter. The Warriors topped the Saints 6-3 in the extra period, though, to clinch the win.
Westmont girls lose two
The Westmont girls slipped to 3-7 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last week, losing 73-37 to Valley Christian and 49-40 to Mt. Pleasant.
Senior guard Jennifer Brown fired in 16 points, including a three, but the Warriors lost by nine to the Cardinals last Friday night.
Karly Brownridge pitched in 10 points, including a three, to support Brown's effort.
Shannon Stenzel and Allyson Carrothers added four points apiece for the Warriors, and Stacey Stenzel and Shantale Higginson hit three each.
Brownridge had tossed in 14 points and Brown had nine in the loss to Valley to open the week. The two each popped three-pointers.
Carrothers and Ann Baumgardner added four points each for Westmont, Jennifer Chaney and Rachel Gelman had two apiece and Lindsey Sherman and Heather Rasmussen hit one each.
Panthers split
The Prospect girls split a couple of games in the Santa Teresa Division, beating Pioneer 41-38 but losing 56-50 to Gunderson. The split left the Panthers even at 5-5 in the circuit.
Dons top Panthers
The Prospect boys basketball team slipped to 2-7 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL after a tight 49-47 loss to Del Mar on Friday.
Roma Ngaleo poured in 16 points and Ryan Najima added 11 to lead all Prospect scorers in the loss to the Dons. Brad Bonvecchio supported with eight points.
The Panthers had fallen 66-58 to Leland earlier in the week, despite getting 12 points from Najima, 11 from Kevin McPeck and 10 from Bonvecchio.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
