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It was a tough week for the boys and girls basketball teams at Prospect. The two teams each earned places in the CCS playoffs, but the Panthers lost both first-round games.
Photograph by Paul Myers
Saratoga boys, girls split at CCS
Winning season for Saratoga basketball
By Dick Sparrer
There were likely a few heads hanging after the Saratoga boys basketball team dropped a 77-69 decision to Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs last weekend.
After all, the loss brought the Saratoga season to an abrupt end, while Sacred Heart will go on to play in the CCS semifinals against Soquel.
Still, while the loss in the year's final game had to sting the Falcons, they can't be disappointed with their performance in the 2001-02 season. Quite the contrary--the Falcons have no reason to hang their heads and every reason to take great pride in their accomplishments of the recently completed campaign.
The Falcons managed to finish second in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, they made it to the CCS quarterfinals and they finished the year with a winning record at 15-14. So they have every reason to be proud.
The Falcons assured themselves a winning season when they opened the playoffs with a 60-55 win over Gunderson, pushing their record two notches over the .500 mark at 15-13.
Senior forward Eric Lee and junior guard Matt Ashburn poured in 15 points apiece to lead Saratoga to the win over the Grizzlies. Ashburn had a three among his three field goals, and he added eight points at the free-throw line. Lee tossed in six buckets from the field and had three free throws.
Mark Elfving supported with six points and Chris Barrett had five. Justin Zebb and David Chien threw in four points apiece, and Aron Mitsunaga, Frank Wallace and Greg Van Hoesen had three each. C.K. Kaplan added two points.
The clubs were tied 10-10 after a period and 31-31 at the half before Gunderson pulled ahead by a bucket after three quarters. But the Falcons ran away from the Grizzlies 20-13 in the fourth to claim the five-point win and advance to the tourney quarterfinals.
Ashburn and Zebb each came back with a big night against Sacred Heart, but the Falcons ended up losing 77-69 to face elimination from the tournament.
Ashburn finished with 23 points on five three-pointers and eight free throws, and Zebb netted 18 points, including a three, to lead the Falcons.
Lee joined the two in double digits with 12 points. Barrett and Van Hoesen added six points apiece for Saratoga and Mitsunaga and Chien had two each.
Sacred Heart outscored Saratoga in each of the first three periods to jump out to a commanding 15-point lead, 57-42. The Falcons topped SH 27-20 in the fourth to make it closer, but it was too little too late.
Rounding out coach Mike Davey's Saratoga squad this winter were Kazuto Nakanishi, Will Kraemer, Lawrence Hui, and Aritoki Suzuki.
The Saratoga girls, meanwhile, opened the CCS Division III playoffs with a 56-52 win over Harbor, but the Falcons lost 60-29 to Santa Cruz last weekend.
The Falcons wrapped up a solid 16-9 season for head coach Bret Yeilding. Members of the team included seniors Karen Woo and Natalie Zisko; juniors Sarah Yee, Judy Wang, Katie Levinson and Selen Erdal; sophomores Diana Shih, Hannah Gladwell, Tiffany Tan, Victoria Liu, Jordan Henry and Kazue Makino; and freshmen Bryte Nielsen and Julia Anderson.
Warriors lose
The Westmont boys and girls basketball teams both lost in CCS Division II first-round games. The boys dropped a tough 46-42 nod to Leigh, and the girls lost 64-35 to Los Gatos.
The Westmont boys fell behind early, then ended up a couple of buckets short in the clash with Leigh last Wednesday night on the Longhorns' floor.
Senior Clay Tolbert fired in a team-high 18 points in his final game for the Warriors. Matt Betti had a pair of threes among his eight points and Brandon Sligh also hit eight points. Mike Gorski and Mark Vega added four points apiece.
The Warriors were down 11-6 after a quarter but pulled to within three at the half, 17-14. Westmont cut the lead by another point in the third to go into the final quarter down just 31-29, but Leigh topped the Warriors 15-13 in the fourth to claim the four-point victory.
Westmont finished the year with a 16-11 season record.
The girls ended up 13-14 for the year after they lost a 64-35 nod to Los Gatos in the first round of the playoffs.
Senior guard Jennifer Brown canned 13 points to lead the Warriors and Karly Brownridge supported with nine points. Allyson Carrothers chipped in with six points, Shantale Higginson and Rachel Gelman had two each, and Shannon Stenzel added one.
The Wildcats outscored the Warriors in every period on the road to the victory.
Rounding out the Westmont squad this winter were Heather Rasmussen, Rachelle Brady, Jessica Carrow, Jennifer Chaney, Tiffani Higginson, Lindsey Sherman, Anna Maria Sul, Ann Baumgardner and Stacy Stenzel. The club was coached by John L. Mackey.
Panthers fall
Like Westmont, Prospect had little success at the CCS playoffs. The Prospect boys and girls both lost in the first round of CCS Division III play.
Kyle Bonvechio bombed 16 points, but the Prospect boys lost 65-42 to Burlingame in the first round of the playoffs.
Bonvechio led the Panthers with his 16 points, which included four three-pointers.
Matt Jasper finished with six points and Roma Ngaleo added five.
The Panthers were outscored in every period but the fourth as Burlingame built up a 26-point lead before the final quarter.
Prospect finished the year with a 14-13 season record.
The Prospect girls also finished 14-13 overall after losing 49-39 to Mills in the first round of CCS play.
Carolyn Okazaki was scoring leader for the Panthers with 12 points.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
