Saratoga News Saratoga, Westmont girls lose in tournament play By Dick Sparrer Sophomore forward Nicole LaMore poured in 17 points to lead the Saratoga girls' basketball team to a lopsided 45-22 win over Gunderson in a nonleague game last week. LaMore buried seven shots from the field and added three free throws to lead all Saratoga scorers in the game, the season opener for the Falcons. Karin Bencala, a junior forward for the Falcons, supported with eight points for Saratoga in the win. Nancy Fathali added seven points, including a three-point bucket. The Falcons took a slim 6-3 lead in a low-scoring first period, but they came on strong in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Grizzlies 14-5 and 16-5 to take a commanding lead. Saratoga made it two in a row with a win over Mountain View in the first round of the Mt. Pleasant Tournament, but the Falcons ended up losing their final two games in the tourney to finish fourth overall. Wilcox opened with a win over Leigh, but lost to eventual champion Mt. Pleasant in the semifinals. The Chargers then faced Saratoga for third place in the tournament. Bencala tossed in 13 points and LaMore added 10, but the Falcons dropped a 54-39 decision to the Chargers. The clubs were tied 20-20 at intermission, but Wilcox pulled away in the third period, topping 'Toga 19-6. The Falcons had lost 42-31 to Los Gatos in the semi's to slip into the third-place game. LaMore poured in 16 points, including a three-pointer, to lead all Saratoga scorers in the game. Fathali pitched in eight points for the Falcons and Bencala added four. Saratoga led 12-6 at the first buzzer and 19-16 at the half. But the 'Cats tied it 26-26 by the end of the third quarter, then outscored the Falcons 16-5 in the fourth to win by 11. In other tournament action last week, Westmont beat Live Oak 42-33 to finish seventh in the Pioneer Classic. Sheryl Mahaffey had a three among her nine points to lead the Warriors to the win over the Acorns. Stacey Simmons chipped in with eight points, Alyssa Parsons had six, Kim Castillo hit five, Zuleeka Mohamed and Jenny Brown four apiece and Michelle Ma, Jennifer Payne and Jennifer Casselberry two each. Castillo hit a three. Westmont lost a 35-34 heartbreaker to Monta Vista in the second round of the tourney. The Warriors fought back from a 20-9 halftime deficit to outscore the Matadors 10-8 in the third and 15-7 in the fourth, but came up two points short. Mahaffey led the Warriors with 10 points, including a three, and Parsons hit nine free throws. Mohamed added five points, Brown four and Payne, Simmons and Victoria Sifuentez two each. Westmont opened the tourney with a 44-37 loss to Soquel. The Warriors were actually up by four points heading into the final period. Westmont led 33-29, but was outscored 15-4 in the fourth. Parsons led the Warriors with 11 points and Mahaffey hit a pair of threes to finish with eight points. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 9, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.