At least, that's what veteran basketball coach Bret Yeilding is hoping for from his girls team this winter.

What the Falcons lack in height, they hope to make up for with speed and intensity as they make the jump to the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this season.

"We are not very tall and so we will play a fast-paced game," said Yeilding. "We want to run and press."

"We are a very young team, with only two seniors," he added. "We return four starters from a team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history."

Starters back from last year include sophomores Bryte Nielsen and Julia Anderson and juniors Tiffany Tan and Victoria Liu.

Nielsen, a 5-foot-10 forward, won all-league first team honors as a freshman, and Tan, a 5-foot-4 guard, was named to the all-league second team. Liu, another junior guard, was on the all-league honorable mention list.

Yeilding has been impressed with Anderson's improvement since last season, and he's excited about the potential of newcomers Amy Yee, a junior guard who hit more than 100 three-pointers for the junior varsity last year, and sophomore guard Irene Tan.

"Both are competing to start," said the coach of Yee and I. Tan.

Seniors Katie Levinson, a 5-foot-4 guard, and Sarah Yee, a 5-foot-6 forward, "will both play a lot," said the coach.

Junior forward Jordan Henry is a tough rebounder, and junior forward Hannah Gladwell is another varsity returner.

Sophomore forward Angela Wong is a solid defensive player coming up from the JVs along with junior forward Chrissie Chew.

"All four returning starters played well over the summer," added the coach, and they return from a team that buried more than 170 three-pointers last winter.

The Falcons are coming off a 15-9 season overall and an 11-3 record in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. But Saratoga makes the jump to the De Anza Division this year.

"I have no idea where we will finish," admitted Yeilding. "Palo Alto looked good when I saw them over the summer, Milpitas returns many players from their El Camino championship team and I know Los Gatos finished very well last year."

The Falcons split a couple of games last week at the Terra Nova Tournament, losing 56-46 to Mills but coming back to beat Immaculate Conception 54-24.

Nielsen jammed 17 points to lead the Falcons past Immaculate Conception. Anderson, Henry, Gladwell and T. Tan tossed in six points each.

Nielsen had pumped in 17 points a game earlier in the loss to Mills. T. Tan hit a couple of three-pointers on her way to an 11-point night, and Liu popped nine points. Henry and Anderson dropped four points each, and Levinson had one.