Things were looking pretty good at Westmont.

But then the Warriors cooled down a bit after Christmas, and they were struggling to regain their winning ways.

Well, regain them they did. The Warriors are winning again, and they're getting the attention of the rest of the clubs in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Westmont edged Overfelt 48-46 and whipped Leland 47-41 last week to improve to 5-3 in the division and to 18-6 for the year.

Danny Sisemore poured in 15 points to lead the Warriors to the close win over the Royals that opened the week. Sisemore tossed in five shots from the floor and added five points at the free-throw line.

Allen Iida supported with nine points, including a pair of three-point buckets. Michael Bottenberg added eight points, Joel Lopez hit six, Mike Gorski popped five, John Baumgardner hit three and Michael Johnson had two. Gorski also had a three.

Bottenberg came back with 12 points later in the week and Baumgardner buried 11 to lead the Warriors to the win over Leland. Bottenberg had a three-pointer in the win. Sisemore chipped in with six points, Gorski and Scott Meinhold had five apiece, Lopez hit four and Iida and Johnson added two each.

In other division action, Prospect lost 61-52 to Overfelt despite a 14-point effort by Fermen Smith, who canned five field goals and four free throws.

Kyle Bonvechio and Ryan Najima threw in 10 points apiece for the Panthers, Brooks Elliott had eight, Steven Vidal seven and Andrew Garguque three. Elliott and Najima each popped three-pointers.


Girls basketball

Rachel Gellman buried 29 points in two games, but the Westmont girls could manage just a split in Mt. Hamilton Division play last week.

Gellman popped 14 points to lead the Warriors to a 52-47 overtime win over Santa Teresa, but her 15 points weren't enough to keep Westmont from suffering a 60-42 loss to Piedmont Hills two nights later.

Gellman had a pair of threes among her five field goals, and she hit three free throws to finish with 15 against the Pirates. Jennifer Chaney joined her in double digits with 10 points. Allyson Carrothers added six points, Ann Baumgardner hit four, Rachelle Brady had three and Lesley Makishima and Stacey Stenzel hit two each.

Westmont, 4-4 in the division and 7-12 for the year, outscored Santa Teresa 10-5 in overtime to pull out a 52-47 win earlier in the week.

Gellman had eight points at the free-throw line on her way to a 14-point night. Chaney also finished with 14 points, and Baumgardner had 10. Carrothers came through with nine points, Ashley Vierra had three and Makishima added one.


Wrestling

Junior wrestling standout Dean Antolin tuned up for the BVAL wrestling championship by placing third at 191 pounds at the recent Overfelt Classic.

In dual match competition last week, Antolin helped the Warriors to a 41-21 win over Leland. The win pushed Westmont's record to 4-2 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.

Antolin won 17-2 at 191 pounds in the victory over the Chargers. Eric Salmons pinned in the second round at 217 pounds, Daniel Castillo pinned in the second at 173 and Scott Fowler won on a second-round fall at 142.

Vincent Luong rolled to a 10-0 win at 105 pounds for the Warriors. Dave Smith-Pfirrmann won 19-4 at 121, Preston Falbo won 10-3 at 137, Brad Turner won 7-0 at 147 and Ryan Kennedy won 15-11 at 162.

Mike Avila nailed a quick fall in 39 seconds at 162 pounds, but that was the only match Prospect could win in a 58-6 loss to Leigh in the West Valley Division.

Westmont, Prospect and the rest of the BVAL teams will get together Feb. 8 for the league finals at Leigh. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m., with the finals set for about 6 p.m.


Girls soccer

There was no scoring for the Westmont girls soccer team last week, and it resulted in back-to-back losses for the Warriors in Mt. Hamilton Division play.

The Warriors were blanked 4-0 by Santa Teresa and 1-0 by Independence. Westmont is now 0-9 in the division.

Things went just a little better for the girls from Prospect. The Panthers were blanked 2-0 but then managed a goal in a 5-1 loss to Santa Teresa later in the week.

Sophomore Lizzie Innes knocked in a first-half goal off an assist from soph Lisa Wiens, but it wasn't enough for the Panthers. Prospect dropped to 3-6 in the Mt. Hamilton Division and to 6-10-1 for the year.