Los Gatos girls best Saratoga after long layoff
Three-game winning streak ends for Los Gatos boys
SARATOGA >> Los Gatos High School girls basketball coach Sara Quilici Giles didn’t have any problem describing what it felt like to be on the court for the first time in 2022.
“It was the best,” she said after the Wildcats’ 58-40 victory at Saratoga on Jan. 14. “It felt really good to be back in the flow of league.”
The Los Gatos squad had not played a game since Dec. 30, as ten out of the 12 members of the varsity team tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month, Quilici Giles said. In addition, the team had not practiced since Dec. 23.
Before the Saratoga victory, Los Gatos had three scheduled games to start the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division season, and none of those were played. Two have been rescheduled, including a tilt with Palo Alto on Feb. 13 (Super Bowl Sunday) at 12:30 p.m.
All the Los Gatos team members were available to play aainst Saratoga. “Today was technically our first day back all together,” said Quilici Giles.
Los Gatos, which entered the week with an 11-1 overall mark and 1-0 De Anza Division record, started out slowly against Saratoga. It led only 15-12 at the end of the first quarter, but a 7-2 run at the start of the second quarter gave the Wildcats a little breathing room against Saratoga, which started the week with a 5-6 overall record and 0-3 De Anza Division mark.
The Wildcats led 30-24 at halftime, but increased their advantage to 46-32 by the end of the third quarter and held at least a 12-point lead through the fourth quarter.
“Second half was much better than the first, kind of shook off that rust a little bit and it’s always nice to get the win,” Quilici Giles said. “I thought their effort was there, which for me is always the most
important thing.”
Los Gatos found success driving to the hoop and drawing fouls. The Wildcats had eight free-throw attempts in the first quarter and 37 in the game.
“It just happened because we weren’t settling for three’s, which is always a good thing,” said Quilici Giles about the number of free throws. “(The team is) understanding now that when we crash the boards as a team and we get offensive rebounds, that leads to open threes, and those are much better shots.”
The Wildcats dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Saratoga 46-20. Los Gatos’ Belle Bramer led the way with 13, and teammates Nicole Steiner (10), Casey Brennan (nine) and Claire Galbo (nine) also rebounded well.
Steiner, a 6-foot freshman, also led the team in scoring with 17 points. She had five of the seven points in the Wildcats’ 7-2 run to start the second quarter.
“Nicole, she’s always going to be where she should be, but when she finishes the ball around the rim, we’re a much better team, and so I thought she did well today getting her shots,” Quilici Giles said.
Galbo added 13 points, and Bramer led the squad with four steals.
The results of the Wildcats’ games against Leigh on Monday and Los Altos on Wednesday were not available before this article’s deadline. Los Gatos plays at Lynbrook today at 6:15 p.m.
Boys basketball
Los Gatos High split its two
SCVAL El Camino Division games last week.
The Wildcats won their third straight El Camino Division game 49-38 over visiting Monta Vista on Jan. 11. Los Gatos had three players score in double figures — Max Houghton with 14, and Arya Emarlou and Luke White with 10 apiece. Houghton also led the Wildcats in rebounds with eight, and dished out three assists. Teammate Trent Splaine added seven rebounds and three assists.
But on Jan. 14, host Saratoga outlasted Los Gatos 52-47. The Falcons led 50-41 with 37.6 seconds left in the game. Los Gatos held a narrow 24-23 lead at halftime and trailed 34-30 at the end of three quarters.
A bright spot for the Wildcats was the play of Osha Moloney
off the bench. The 6-0 freshman guard scored a team-high 14 points, including a pair of threepointers. Houghton added 10 points, and teammate Victor Josifovski grabbed eight rebounds in the game. A depleted Los Gatos roster got thinner when it lost starter Tommy Ankenbrandt to an injury just minutes into the game.
Christian Li scored 12 points for Saratoga, including 10 in the second half. Saratoga improved to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the El Camino Division with the win. Los Gatos fell to 8-8, 3-1.
The result of Los Gatos’ game against Fremont-sunnyvale on Tuesday was unavailable at press time. The Wildcats go on the road today to play Lynbrook at 7:45 p.m.