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Westmont girls in Classic win
Saratoga girls finish fourth at Mt. Pleasant Tournament
By Dick Sparrer
It had been nearly a decade since the Westmont girls basketball team had last won a championship in the Pioneer Classic. But the Warriors finished the 1990s just like they started the '90s--by winning a Pioneer championship.
Westmont whipped Soquel 48-39 in the Pioneer finals last Friday night to win its first Classic championship since 1990.
It's not like the Warriors hadn't been close at any point in the decade. Westmont finished second twice--in 1997 to Santa Cruz and in 1991 to Monta Vista. But a title had eluded the Warriors ... until last week, that is.
Westmont crushed Monta Vista 37-9 and edged Homestead 35-32 before beating Soquel in the tournament championship game.
Senior guard-forward Sheryl Mahaffey poured in 35 points in the three games on her way to winning the tournament's most valuable player award. She had won all-tourney honors back in '97 when the Warriors finished second in the event.
Junior center Mia Simmons and senior forward Zuleeka Mohamed were other Warriors picked to the all-tourney list after helping their team to the championship.
Mahaffey pitched in four three-pointers on her way to a 16-point night in the win over Soquel in the finals. Simmons supported with 14 points and sophomore guard Jenny Brown tossed in 11. Kim Castillo added five points, including a three-pointer, and Mohamed had two points.
Simmons led the Warriors with 12 points and Mahaffey canned nine in the win over Homestead in the semifinals. Castillo had five points, Gina Kottikas four, Brown three and Jennifer Brownridge two.
The Warriors had to fight back from a 28-20 deficit after three periods, outscoring Homestead 15-4 in the fourth quarter to win by three.
Westmont had opened the tourney by crushing Monta Vista 37-9. Mahaffey had 10 points, and Mohamed hit eight to lead the Warriors. Simmons added five, Brownridge and Kottikas four apiece, Shannon Stenzel three, Castillo two and Veronica Sifuentez one.
Good start
It was a good start to what Westmont coach Chris Ressa figures will be a good season for the Warriors.
"We have a strong nucleus with six seniors back," said the coach. "It should be an enjoyable season to coach."
Seniors Mahaffey and Alyssa Parsons each return after winning all-league first team honors a year ago.
Seniors Mohamed and Sifuentez return after all-league honorable mention seasons last winter, and Kottikas and Castillo are other senior returners for Westmont.
Simmons, a junior, and Brown, a sophomore, were all-league second teamers last year who return to the floor this season for the Warriors.
Brownridge, another junior, and sophomores Justine Stagi and Stenzel are top prospects up from the junior varsity.
The Warriors finished third in the tough Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last year at 6-6, and they were 16-12 for the year.
"We should be improved from last year," said Ressa, who led the Warriors to the Central Coast Section Division II title in the 1997-98 season.
Falcons fourth
The Saratoga girls dropped a tough 37-32 decision to Wilcox to wind up fourth overall in the Mt. Pleasant Tournament last week.
Nicole LaMore popped 18 points, including a couple of three-pointers, to lead all Saratoga scorers in the game. Karen Woo supported with six points for the Falcons, and Dernie Wang and Jennifer Altafi hit four apiece.
The clubs were dead even after a period at 6-6 and the Falcons were up by a point at the half, 12-11. But Wilcox outscored Saratoga 16-9 in the third quarter to take the lead, and cruised from there to the victory.
LaMore had scored nine points, and Woo scored eight points a game earlier in a 66-35 loss to most Mt. Pleasant.
The Falcons hung with the tough Cardinals for a period, trailing just 17-13 at the buzzer. But Mt. Pleasant blitzed Saratoga 28-2 in the second quarter to take control of the game.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
