Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Looking for Help: Presentation sophomore forward Kelly Bertoldo looks for someone to pass to in last Wednesday's CCS Division III semifinal game against Burlingame. The Panthers won this one 43-36 before losing 43-29 to Sacred Heart Cathedral in the championship game on Saturday.
Presentation falls in CCS title game
Yarwasky hits a dozen points for Panthers
By Dick Sparrer
It wasn't exactly the championship game the Presentation Panthers were hoping for.
Oh, the Panthers had their hearts set on playing for the section championship, and they realized that goal by beating Burlingame 43-36 to earn a shot at the CCS Division III title.
But once in the championship game, Sacred Heart Cathedral played the role of the heartbreaker in dominating the Panthers 43-29 in a 2 p.m. game Saturday at Santa Clara University's Leavey Center.
The middle of the game turned out to be the difference as Sacred Heart outscored Presentation 25-6 over the middle two periods.
The Panthers actually opened up a 10-9 lead in the first quarter, but Sacred Heart took care of that in a hurry in the second. The Irish dominated the Panthers 12-1 in the second quarter, then outscored the underdogs 13-5 in the third to take a commanding 34-16 lead into the final period.
The Panthers made a bit of a run in the fourth quarter, outscored the Irish 13-9, but Sacred Heart still ended up winning by 14 points to claim the section crown.
Nicole Yarwasky, a 6-foot-2 junior center, led all Presentation scorers with 12 points in the game. She hit four field goals and added four points at the free-throw line.
But Yarwasky was the only player to score in double digits for the low-scoring Panthers. Liz Cirone added six points, Katie Mello and Jackie Murray had three apiece, Hayley Farb and Kirian Ishizaki hit two each and Kelly Bertoldo added one.
Presentation, 19-9 for the year, will now advance to the Northern California Division III Regional playoffs on March 6, 7:30 p.m., at Miramonte in Orinda.
NorCal semifinals are set for March 9 with the championship game to be played March 16 at UC-Davis.
Presentation earned its place in the Saturday CCS Division III title game with the seven-point win over Burlingame in the semifinals last Wednesday at Valley Christian in San Jose.
Yarwasky and Cirone were the scoring leaders for the Panthers with 10 points apiece in the win over Burlingame's Panthers, who finished the season 27-4.
The win was something of a mild upset for the Panthers. Presentation entered the CCS tournament as the No. 3 seed, and Burlingame was the No. 2 seed. Sacred Heart Cathedral was the No. 1 seed.
Presentation figures to be back among the CCS leaders again next year, considering the youth movement under way on the Willow Glen campus. Cirone and forward Ashlee Kling are the only seniors on a squad dominated by underclassmen.
Yarwasky, Mello and Julie Hiura are the only juniors on the floor for the Panthers, who have seven freshmen and sophomores on the varsity squad.
Sophs Farb, Bertoldo, Francesca Farinacci, Theresa Vinal and Ashley Howell are joined by freshmen Murray and Ishizaki on Rich Brown's Presentation team.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
