St. Francis holds off Santa Cruz at the buzzer St. Francis holds off Santa Cruz at the buzzer (December 19, 2003)

Lancers make do with short bench

By Samay Gheewala

In a meeting between two top teams in CCS, St. Francis girls' basketball team defeated Santa Cruz at home in a nail-biting thriller on Saturday. The Lancers held off the Cardinals at the last minute to take the win, 39-38.

The game should be a bellwether match for the upcoming season, in which the young Lancers, who lost 10 players from last year's CCS runner-up team, face high expectations. Facing off against Santa Cruz with only 9 players, the Lancers knew they would have to tough it out.

Throughout the game, the two teams played different styles but were able to stay close to each other, rarely allowing so much as a 3-point lead to develop on either side. Strong defense predominated in the first half, as both teams hit halftime with the score tied 14-14.

In the third quarter, St. Francis, led by junior forward Kim Mooney, began to look as if it was wearing Santa Cruz down. However, the Lancers were unable to maintain their edge as Santa Cruz hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to even the game's momentum. By the start of the final quarter, Santa Cruz held a tenuous 30-29 lead.

After Santa Cruz put two more points on the board, St. Francis fired back with 5 unanswered points to take the lead with less than four minutes to go. The Lancers were able to hold on with the aid of two free throws sunk by Mooney with 14.8 seconds remaining in the game to keep the Cardinals at bay.

Mooney led all Lancer scorers with 12 points, while sophomore point guard Cynthia Curley had 10 points and senior forward Mary Beth Curley had 8.

"We had to keep grinding it out for all 32 minutes, but we did it, and we came out on top," said St. Francis coach Ashley Hill. "They played well together, as a team. All nine players have to give 100 percent in a game like this, and that's why we could win it."

St. Francis beats Los Altos 2-1 in early matchup

Last year, following a defeat by St. Francis, the Los Altos girls' soccer team went on a win streak that didn't end until the CCS semi-finals, according to Los Altos coach Roberto Magellan.

"Hopefully, history will repeat itself this year," said Magellan after a similar defeat to the Lancers Dec. 9. Both teams showed strong play throughout the game, as St. Francis held sway over the first half with goals by Liz Behlen and Katie Tippets. Los Altos battled back in the second, capped by a goal from Sarah Nolet. The Eagles were unable to win the game back, even though they outshot the Lancers 12 to 5 for the game.

Magellan was pleased by his team's effort, saying, "We showed improvements in many areas, such as marking, movements off the ball, and mainly believing that they are also a great bunch of soccer players."

Two days later, freshman Hillary Machado scored the only goal to push the Eagles to a 1-0 win over Santa Clara at home. With the win in its last game before the start of the league season, Los Altos moved to a 4-4 record. The team now has positive momentum moving into what should be another strong season in the De Anza league, which it led last year.

St. Francis stood at 5-0-1 after the Los Altos game, and looks to continue its undefeated streak into WCAL play.

Mountain View's Paulick drops 34 points

Mountain View basketball player Peyton Paulick has had great games recently, but she exceeded them all on Dec. 10 when she powered the Spartans past King's Academy with a whopping 34 points. She scored over half of Mountain View's points in its 62-53 victory.

Paulick's performance capped Mountain View's second defeat of King's Academy in as many weeks and pushed the Spartans' record to 3-1 as they continue to tune up in the preseason. While Paulick put up the lion's share of offense for Mountain View, Lauren Esteban had a good night as well, notching 12 points of her own.

Mountain View shows it's on par with Homestead

"I knew this game would be a good test for us, to show that we could play against a tough team like Homestead," said Mountain View girls' soccer coach Ahmad Saidin. Both teams struck twice in the first half. Then each scored a goal apiece in the second, as rough play by Homestead disrupted Mountain View's flow late in the game. The final score was 3-3.

Dawn Maxie scored two of Mountain View's goals, while Diana Heeb put one past the keeper for the Spartans as well.

The game was Mountain View's final non-league match before the beginning of the El Camino division season. "If we can play like we did today, we'll do very well in league play," said Saidin.

Los Altos on lookout for vandals

The Los Altos High School Athletic Department is offering a reward for information regarding the theft of public announcement equipment from the newly-renovated athletic fields and the repeated acts of vandalism in the pool area. If you have any information regarding either of these incidents, contact Los Altos athletic director Monica Lodge at 960-8857.

E-mail Samay Gheewala at sports@mv-voice.com

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