Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Willow Glen girls lose their last two games
By Kevin Sparrer
A strong defense is one of the most difficult things to overcome in sports, and the Willow Glen girls basketball team learned that the hard way last week.
The lady Rams struggled against the strength of the co-league champion Prospect Panthers' defense on Feb. 15, falling 45-35.
Willow Glen actually made quite a comeback late in the game, outscoring the Panthers 20-8 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to make up for the second quarter when the Rams were unable to make a field goal. The only point for Willow Glen in the eight minutes of the second period came from the free-throw line.
Despite the struggle, Samantha Tsukiji scored 13 points with four at the line, including the only point in the second quarter, and she had three points from outside the arc.
Alyssa O'Brien added eight points with two buckets from behind the arc, and Meghan Wilson had seven, including a three. Brittany O'Brien had four with two at the line, and Hayley Tharp had a three-pointer.
The Panthers held the Rams to six points in the first quarter, one in the second and eight in the third. But despite entering the fourth quarter trailing 37-15, the Rams were able to come out strong, hitting three three-point buckets and scoring more points that quarter than the rest of the game combined.
The loss to the Panthers drops the Rams to 5-9 in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. Unfortunately, that means the Rams will not continue on to the Central Coast Section playoffs, and their year ends with a 7-17 overall record.
The good news for the lady Rams is that only three players--Tsukiji, Nadia Conroy and Stephanie Serna--are seniors who will be lost to graduation in the spring.
Willow Glen also had struggled against Branham earlier in the week, losing 44-26 on Feb. 13. The Rams were unable to put up any large numbers, being held to four points in the first quarter and only five in the fourth.
Tsukiji and Serna split the offensive effort, both scoring nine. Tsukiji had a free throw and six points from outside the arc, while Serna sunk five from the free-throw line. A. O'Brien had four with two free throws, B. O'Brien had two and Wilson made two free throws.
The Willow Glen boys basketball team lost a close one at home to Leland 49-47 on Feb. 16, and the loss cost the Rams a share of first place in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.
Willow Glen, co-champs in the division a year ago with Prospect, could have finished in a first-place tie with Sobrato with a win over the Chargers. But the two-point loss left the Rams 11-3 in the division and Sobrato finished at 12-2.
Still, Willow Glen will take a 19-7 season record on to the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs this week. The Rams, seeded No. 10, were to open at No. 6 Seaside (15-7) on Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m., with the winner to face the No. 3 Burlingame (17-7)-No. 14 Del Mar (21-4) first-round winner on Feb. 24 at St. Ignatius.
It was Steven Skavdahl who did the majority of the scoring for the Rams against the Chargers last week, scoring 18 points with 12 of coming from three-point range and four coming at the line.
Kyle Schroeder added 12 to the total with a three and one at the line. Brian Chunn and Anthony Rodriguez each scored six, and Billy Hahn added five.
Earlier in the week, Willow Glen trailed Branham 21-20 at the half but came back in the third and fourth quarters to score 20 and 21 points respectively, outscoring Branham 41-9 in the second half to roll to a 61-30 victory.
This time it was Schroeder who led the attack with 17, including a pair of the threes and seven at the line. Hahn supported with 14, including two threes. Skavdahl added 11 with nine points from three-point land, Rodriguez had six, Chunn had five with a three and a pair at the line, and Ricky Huynh, Nico Gomez and Jimmy Renneke each had two.
