Loud cheers went up from behind the Homestead bench for anything resembling a positive Mustang play during the quarterfinal match-up against third-seeded Aragon of San Mateo. Whether it was a drive to the basket or a dive to the floor, the rooters would stand up and roar.

If they had just figured a way to transfer their energy into offensive poise for the sixth-seeded Mustangs, they may have been still making noise this week at another CCS playoff game.

Instead, the season is over for the Mustangs, whose hard-working, high-energy defensive play was not enough to overcome 22 turnovers and prolonged scoreless streaks in each quarter by the offense.

Homestead lost 57-41 to the Dons, champions of the Peninsula Athletic League, in a game that was closer than the final score indicates. Homestead finished its season with a 22-7 record, including a 10-2 mark and co-championship with Saratoga and Palo Alto in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

"We rushed it quite a bit," admitted Homestead coach Ruby Gulapa, "especially in the second half, and their quickness helped them get a lot of loose balls."

"They gave us troubles inside, too," Gulapa noted. "That No. 44 (5-foot-11 Ashley Alipate) played like she was 7-foot."

Alipate (10 points) and 6-foot-1 center Kristie Hala'utia (11) were steady inside forces throughout the game. The Mustangs, led by sophomore Becky Tratter's 11 rebounds and senior Mandy Wald's 10, barely won the battle of the boards 34-31. Aragon was led by left-hander Stephanie Dere's game-high 17 points, nine on three-point shots.

Although they scored just four points in the first 4:27 of the game and just four during the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Mustangs hung tough. They finished furiously in each of those periods, using a 7-1 run during the last 2:25 of the half to pull within six points at the intermission, 33-27.

Wald scored seven of her team-high 15 points in the quarter and finished the first half with 11. Junior Shelley Baxter had all six of her points during the period.

The Mustangs went through yet another icy period during the third quarter, missing their first eight shots and falling behind by 13. Finally, Tratter ended the freeze with a follow shot at the 3:54 mark to trim the deficit to 40-29. Homestead tallied six more points in the quarter, four by Tratter and two by sophomore Christina Fukumoto.

While the offense struggled, the defense sparkled in the third quarter, pressuring the Dons to misfire on 16 of 21 shots. Baxter had two rebounds and two blocked shots during the period.

Homestead trailed just 43-35 entering the fourth quarter, and quickly cut the margin to six on the first possession when Wald grabbed an offensive rebound and stuck it back through the hoop.

The Mustangs then went more than four minutes without scoring. In fact, Aragon's defensive quickness forced Homestead turnovers on six of the next nine possessions. Meanwhile, Aragon scored eight, including six on fast-break lay-ups.

Tratter's turnaround shot from the right low block after a nifty pass from Baxter made it 51-39 with 3:33 left. Wald scored the Mustangs' final points of the season at the 2:30 mark, making it 51-41.

The Homestead crowd stood up and cheered one final time with 27 seconds to go, when it gave Wald a long standing ovation after the four-year varsity starter fouled out.

Homestead's only other senior, point guard Jenelle Kitasoe, did not score, but dealt out four assists, grabbed two rebounds and picked up a steal. Baxter had four rebounds and two assists. Junior Melanie Manuel had three rebounds and two steals to go with two first-quarter free throws. Sandra Kiel, another junior, hit a foul-line jumper and grabbed two boards. Fukumoto passed out two assists and freshman Cheryl Ichikawa had a rebound.

The Mustangs beat Carlmont 38-30 in the first round Thursday night. Wald scored 21 points to lead the way. Kitasoe had eight, Tratter seven and Baxter two.

Firebirds fall

Fremont's boys and girls, playing in Division II, lost first-round games. The girls fell to SCVAL El Camino rival Santa Clara 36-25. The boys traveled to San Mateo and were blitzed by Aragon 89-54.

After splitting a pair of close league games with Santa Clara, the Fremont girls must have felt there was a lid on its basket during the playoff game. The Firebirds, who used a 13-point second quarter to take a two-point lead at halftime, scored just four points in each of the other three periods.

Fremont made just six shots from the field, relying heavily on 11 foul shots. Meanwhile, five of Santa Clara's 13 baskets were from three-point range.

Yet, the Firebirds still had "many chances to pull out a win," said coach John Wells. "It just wasn't meant to be."

Senior Shalainie Manuel scored 10 points, including two three-point baskets, to lead Fremont. Erin Sturm had seven, Aneta Pariaszevski six and Jessica Moore two.

Fremont finished its El Camino schedule with two exciting two-point games. After dropping a 47-45 decision at Gunn, the Firebirds won their home finale 43-41 against Wilcox.

Manuel scored 13 points, Jessica Svoboda had 10 and Sturm added eight against Gunn. Ally Lang and Victoria Cunha chipped in with five apiece. Against Wilcox, Moore scored the decisive basket with 15 seconds to play. Sturm (14 points) Manuel (10) and Moore (eight) were the top scorers. Fremont ended league play with a 7-5 record.

"I was pleased the way the girls worked hard all season," praised Wells, whose team finished with a 12-15 overall record. "The girls never gave up and we lost some close games."

The boys fell behind 23-12 in the first quarter and never recovered against Aragon, which had five players score in double figures.

Lance Turner's 20 points and Dan Bergeron's 15 led Fremont's scoring. Chris Gokey had eight points, Lance DeWitt tallied four and Leo Janisse chipped in with three. Gaurav Kumar and Victor Stemplewski scored two each.

"This is a hard-working group of kids," said coach Miguel Castillo, complimenting his team after it finished with an overall record of 16-14, including 6-6 in SCVAL De Anza play.

Knights lose 46-45

The King's Academy boys team completed its season with a narrow defeat in the Division V tourney, losing 46-45 to Mid Peninsula. Issac Houston scored 12 to lead King's. J.T. Martin had 10, Jason Linn eight and Paul Marcoux seven for the Knights, who ended with a 13-13 record.