Perfect week pushes Wildcats into top of De Anza standings
The Los Gatos girls basketball team was outstanding last week with victories over Lynbrook, Los Altos and Palo Alto, the latter which was ranked 11th in the Bay Area News Group Top 20.
On Jan. 11, the Wildcats rallied from a 24-19 halftime deficit to defeat Paly 55-44. The game was played at Saratoga High due to a power outage at Los Gatos.
“I thought they played so hard, and they really, really showed a lot of grit and firepower,” Los Gatos coach Sara Quilici Giles said immediately after the game.
Los Gatos star Nicole Steiner faced double-team pressure, but other teammates stepped up offensively. Casey Brennan led the Wildcats with 14 points, Claire Galbo and Steiner both produced 10 points, Ella Rabitz had nine and Ashley Childers added eight. Brennan also had three assists.
“She's really stepping into a new role as our point guard this year,” said Quilici Giles about the 5-foot-11 Brennan, who began this season as a center. “She's really thriving in that. She knows we need one and she's the best person under pressure to do it.”
Steiner grabbed a gamehigh 17 rebounds. Galbo added seven rebounds and three assists. The Wildcats had 11 assists in the game.
Los Gatos fell behind 2719 in the first minute of the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Paly's Natalie Neumann. But the Wildcats then went on a 17-3 run and didn't trail after that.
“At halftime, we went in super positive,” Brennan said. “We all just really trusted and believed in each other, and I think
that's what won us the game.”
Los Gatos was also able to limit Palo Alto's Kaella Peters in the second half. Peters drained four 3-pointers in the first half, but only had four points in the second half.
“We just really tried to buckle down on defense and use our length,” said Quilici Giles, whose team had a six-game winning streak entering this week.
Paly tied the game at 38 early in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Itzel Torres. But a free throw by Childers and a 3-pointer from Brennan off an assist from Galbo gave the Wildcats a 42-38 lead with five minutes, 31 seconds remaining — and Los Gatos didn't allow Paly to get any closer. Paly, which fell to 9-4 overall, suffered its first loss in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division play.
Los Gatos entered this week with an 11-3 overall record and a perfect 4-0
SCVAL De Anza Division mark.
On Jan. 10, Los Gatos defeated host Lynbrook 5043. The Wildcats outscored Lynbrook 21-9 in the third quarter to erase a 23-20 halftime deficit. Steiner had a game-high 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Childers added 13 points. Galbo had five assists and Brennan added four assists.
The Wildcats finished the week with a 47-29 win over host Los Altos on Jan. 12. Los Gatos took a 13-4 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Steiner had a team-high 24 points (including 7-of-9 field-goal shooting), three blocks, five assists and also six rebounds. Galbo had a teamhigh seven rebounds, and Brennan led the team in steals with three.
Boys basketball
Los Gatos increased its winning streak to four games with a 52-33 victory over host Los Altos on Jan. 13. Max Houghton led the
Wildcats in scoring with 17 points, while Scotty Brennan added 12 in the win.
Two days earlier, Los Gatos led throughout the game in a 60-41 dismantling of Palo Alto. The game was part of a doubleheader with the Los Gatos girls at Saratoga.
“We really wanted to limit our turnovers, play with intensity, defend the fast break,” Houghton said.
Houghton scored the Wildcats' first eight points of the game, including a pair of 3-pointers, and finished with a game-high 18 points. Brennan added 16 points, including seven in the second quarter, Nolan Koch had a game-high eight rebounds.
Paly closed Los Gatos' lead to 12-9 late in the first quarter. But the Wildcats scored the last three points of the first quarter on a Ronan Chinmulgund free throw and a putback by Brennan. It was part of a 10-0 run by Los Gatos, which led by double digits
for the final 12 minutes of the game. Paly fell to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in SCVAL De Anza Division play with the loss.
Los Gatos entered this week with an 11-4 overall mark and 3-0 De Anza Division record. The Wildcats travel to play Mountain View tonight at 7.
Boys wrestling
Los Gatos's Dylan Pile
won the 160-pound division at the Battle for the Belt tournament last weekend at Temecula Valley. Pile defeated Poway's Angelo Posada 4-0 in the championship match.
Other Los Gatos placers included Tim Murabito (second in the 138-pound division), Sasha Nyzhnyk (fourth, 195) and Peter Bowen (seventh, 132).