The Mustangs, after winning a nailbiter from Los Gatos and turning back a rugged Milpitas squad last week, certainly couldn't look past Tuesday night's opponent, Saratoga. After all, the Falcons were trying to avenge a pair of earlier two-point losses to the Mustangs.

But if the Mustangs did get by the Falcons and Palo Alto doesn't stumble this week, there will be some noise made in the Homestead gym on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The Mustangs and Vikings would be battling for a share of first place in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's De Anza Division.

Homestead converted nine of 17 foul shots in the fourth quarter against Los Gatos, five by forward Mandy Wald, and survived a gutty Los Gatos squad.

The visiting Wildcats had a left-handed point guard, Jessica Norvell, who was just as willing to take a three-point shot from well behind the arc as well as driving hard at the Homestead defense.

Norvell's tenacity rubbed off on Los Gatos' forwards and center, who were willing to bang bodies and challenge the taller Mustangs for every rebound and loose ball. The Wildcats, who employed a trapping, full-court zone press throughout, contested every shot within their reach.

Yet, Homestead held on and claimed a 45-40 win, improving to 6-1 in league play and 17-5 overall.

Becky Tratter, a 6-1 sophomore, worked hard on both ends of the court, scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Jenelle Kitasoe, the Mustangs' senior floor leader, calmly worked the ball upcourt through the Los Gatos pressure and made few mistakes.

Melissa Manuel showed her quickness on offense and her ballhawking ability on defense. Her slashes to the basket and quick, pull-up jumpers led to 10 points. On defense, she shadowed Norvell during most halfcourt sets and worked the passing lanes for several steals.

After trailing 24-20 at halftime, the Mustangs evened the score at 32 by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Wald took over. Although she finished just 3-for-10 from the field, the senior co-captain kept working hard. She drew defenders to her and dished off passes to teammates for seven assists or earning free throws. In all, nine of Wald's 15 points were from the foul line.

Earlier in the week, Wald had perhaps her best game of the season in a 63-52 win at Milpitas. She poured in 24 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to go with three steals and three assists.

Scoring support came from Tratter (13 points) and Kitasoe (11). Shelly Baxter and Manuel scored five each. Elham Mirshafiei and Sandra Kiel added two apiece and Christina Fukumoto had one.

Boys basketball

Although Homestead dropped a pair of De Anza Division contests last week, the Mustangs' biggest loss came in the form of ankle injury to its leading scorer.

Junior Mark McLaughlin suffered a dislocated ankle during a 59-56 defeat at Milpitas. He underwent surgery on Friday and is out for the season.

Homestead trailed Milpitas by 13 entering the fourth quarter, but fell short in its upset bid. Sophomore David Ostrow scored 11, Domingo Emiano had 11, Shane Wey popped in 10 and McLaughlin finished with nine.

The Mustangs' league record dropped to 1-6 on Friday when Los Gatos handed them a 53-35 defeat. Nine Mustangs scored, but nobody hit double figures.

Meanwhile, Fremont won its only game of the week, smacking Gunn 67-38. The Firebirds erupted for a 23-2 third quarter, turning a two-point game at halftime into a blowout.

Junior Dan Bergeron led the way with 24 points, including nine on three-pointers. Lance Dewitt scored 14, Chris Gokey had 13 and Lance Turner tallied nine.