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Saratoga junior Katie Levinson battles for the basketball in last week's win over Los Gatos. The Falcons are off to a quick 2-0 start this season.
Photograph by Paul Myers
Basketball teams off to hot starts this season
By Dick Sparrer
Both Mike Davey and Bret Yeilding are hoping that a hot start will mean a strong finish for the boys and girls basketball teams at Saratoga High School this winter.
Both clubs have started off the year in impressive fashion. The boys opened the year by winning two of three games to finish second at the Cupertino Shootout, and the girls opened the season with back-to-back victories over Silver Creek and Los Gatos.
The coaches are realistic, though, in their expectations heading into the 2001-02 season. And while both expect their Falcons to finish in the top half of the league standings, neither is going out on a limb and predicting a league championship this winter.
Zebb leads Falcons
Davey figures his Falcons for a fourth-place finish in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after winning the division title last winter.
The Saratoga coach looks to Homestead as the division favorite, but expects his squad to figure among the contenders.
Leading the Saratoga effort this season is returning all-leaguer Justin Zebb. The 6-foot senior point guard heads a pack of six varsity returners for the Falcons this season.
Seniors Eric Lee (6-foot-2 power forward), Mark Elfving (6-foot-3 center) and C.K. Kaplan (5-foot-7 guard) join juniors Matt Ashburn (5-foot-8 guard) and Chris Barrett (6-foot-2 center) as top returners for Saratoga.
Lawrence Hui (6-foot guard-forward) is a top prospect up from the frosh-soph team, where he won all-league honors a year ago.
The Falcons opened the year with wins over American 40-36 and Cupertino 52-41 in the Cupertino Shootout before losing in the finals to Andrew Hill 64-43.
Ashburn poured in 12 points to lead the Falcons to the tourney-opening win over American. The junior had two three-pointers in the game.
Zebb supported with nine points for Saratoga, Barrett had six and Hui added four, including a three-pointer.
The Falcons fought from behind to outscore
American 12-7 in the final period to pull out the victory and advance to the semifinals against host Cupertino.
Zebb had the hot hand in the 52-41 win over the Pioneers in the semi's, canning 13 points to lead the Falcons.
Ashburn also finished in double digits with 10 points, including a pair of threes. Hui had eight points, and Barrett hit seven.
Ashburn poured in 16 points, including a three, but the Falcons lost 64-43 to Hill in the tourney title game. Lee pitched in 11 points for Saratoga.
The Falcons will take their 2-1 season record up against San Rafael Dec. 4, 7 p.m., at Saratoga before taking part in the Los Gatos Lions' Wildcat Shootout this week.
Saratoga opens the tourney against Willow Glen Dec. 6, 7 p.m., at Los Gatos. The Saratoga-Willow Glen winner plays Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., and the loser plays that day at 3:30 p.m.
The finals are set for Dec. 8 with the consolation championship at 4 p.m., the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. and the championship game at 7 p.m.
Tan Top Returner
Tiffany Tan heads up a list of just five returners for the girls basketball team at Saratoga this season.
The Falcons lost eight seniors to graduation last spring, and lost three-year starter Stephanie Morrison to a knee injury suffered last season.
"We have nine players new to the varsity, and the team has eight underclassmen," said Yeilding. "We are very inexperienced."
That said, Yeilding was quick to add, "We are also very athletic and eventually we will be very good. Whether that happens this year depends on how well we practice. Right now we are practicing very well."
Leading the effort for the Falcons will be sophomore co-captain Tan, who won all-league honorable mention plaudits last year. Tan is a 5-foot-4 guard for the Falcons.
"Tiffany is the only sophomore captain I've ever had," said Yeilding. "She's a special player."
Seniors Natalie Zisko (5-foot-10 center) and Karen Woo (5-foot-7 forward), junior Sarah Yee (5-foot-6 forward) and sophomore Diana Shih (5-foot-2 point guard) are other key returners for Saratoga.
Woo is another co-captain for the Falcons, and the third was to be Morrison.
"Stephanie would have been a four-year starter," said Yeilding. "We will miss her a great deal."
Still, despite the loss of Morrison and the inexperience of the Falcons, Yeilding figures that his club will "finish in the top half of the league." He rates Monta Vista and Lynbrook as the division favorites.
Saratoga won the junior varsity title last year, and Hannah Gladwell, Victoria Liu, Judy Wang, Katie Levinson, Jordan Henry and Selen Erdal are all prospects moving up to the varsity squad.
Freshmen Bryte Nielsen and Julia Anderson are other bright prospects for the Falcons, along with transfer Kazue Makino.
The Falcons opened the year with a 67-55 win over Silver Creek. Woo buried six three-pointers to finish with 18 points for the Falcons, and Tan chipped in with 15 points. Liu had a three among her 10 points.
The freshmen, Nielsen and Anderson, started their prep career off right. Nielsen hit 10 points in the win, and Anderson added five.
Wang added three points, and Yee, Levinson and Erdal hit two each.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
