Nielsen and Anderson combined for 58 points in two games last week to lead the Falcons to back-to-back wins in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Nielsen pitched in 22 points and Anderson added 18 to drive the Falcons to a 56-37 win over Monta Vista to close the week. The two had teamed for 18 points in a 58-30 win over Los Gatos two days earlier.

The two wins helped Saratoga improve to 5-2 in the De Anza Division and pushed the Falcons' season record to 14-5.

Nielsen, a 5-foot-10 junior forward, tossed in 10 buckets, including a three-pointer, and added one free throw to pace the Falcons with 22 points in the win over the Matadors.

Anderson muscled up seven buckets inside and added four free throws to finish with 18 point for the Falcons.

Hot-shooting senior guard Victoria Liu had a three among her three field goals to finish with seven points in the win. Tiffany Tan had four points, Hannah Gladwell and Jordana Dreyfuss two apiece and Tiffany Poon one.

Saratoga outscored Monta Vista in every quarter but the fourth on the way to the 19-point win, topping the Mats 18-7 in the first period to take control of the game early.

The Falcons bombarded Los Gatos earlier in the week, tossing in seven three-point buckets on the way to the 28-point win.

Tan and Liu shared game-high scoring honors in this one with 15 points apiece, including three threes each. Anderson joined them in double digits with 11 points. Nielsen had a three among her seven points, Gladwell hit six points and Dreyfuss added four.

Falcons top Spartans

The Saratoga boys improved to 5-1 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL with a tight 53-50 win over Mountain View last week in the battle of the league's top two teams. The Spartans slipped to 5-1 in the division with the loss.

Guard Irving Chien had the hot hand for the Falcons in this one with a team-high 13 points. The 5-foot-8 senior had three three-pointers among his four field goals and he added two points at the free-throw line.

Saratoga's 6-foot-4 junior center Matt Russell supported with 10 points, muscling up five shots inside the paint, and 6-foot-3 senior Danny Wallace chipped in with nine points inside.

Nima Rad came through with eight points, including a pair of threes, and Ben Coggins had four points. Aron Mitsunaga and Chris Etterman each drained a three and Adam Sato added three points.

The Falcons jumped out to a quick 18-12 lead in the first period, and took that six-point lead in at intermission, 32-26. The Spartans managed to cut the lead by one in the third and two more in the fourth, but Mountain View came up three points short.

Split in girls soccer

The Saratoga girls soccer team outscored Homestead 5-3 last week, but was blanked 3-0 by Los Altos a couple of days later. The Falcons are now 4-2-3 in the De Anza Division and 11-3-3 for the year.

Annie McAllister had four goals and an assist to lead the Falcons to the big win over Homstead. Gwen Belomy had a goal and an assist for Saratoga. Nikki Franchi and Ann Bertelsen also had assists for Saratoga.

Soccer team falls

The Saratoga boys varsity soccer team lost twice last week, falling 3-1 to Lynbrook and 3-0 to Homestead.

Sophomore forward Kai Lo knocked in a first-half goal for the Falcons, but the Vikings scored twice to lead 2-1 at the half. Lynbrook added an insurance goal in the second half to clinch the 3-1 win.

Chris Deal scored twice for the Vikes in the win and Steven Khong also scored. Greg Lam and Tim Nicholas each added assists.

The Vikings are now 7-1-2 in the De Anza Division and 8-6-3 for the year.