Shishido, Beritzhoff lead Gatos girls to third place

Silver Creek Holiday Classic shows strengths

By Dick Sparrer

Nancy Shishido and Michelle Beritzhoff were pretty much zeroed in on the bucket when the Los Gatos girls basketball team battled in the Silver Creek Holiday Classic last week.

Beritzhoff buried 41 points and Shishido netted 40 in three games to lead the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the tournament played over winter break.

The Wildcats opened the tournament with a convincing 56-33 win over Live Oak, but lost to eventual tourney champ Fremont 47-40 in overtime a game later. Gatos fought back to crush host Silver Creek 69-27 in the final game to clinch third place overall.

Beritzhoff poured in 16 points and Shishido was close behind with 15 in the third-place game against the Raiders. Beritzhoff, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, pumped in eight buckets for the Cats and Shishido, a 5-foot-5 senior guard, had a couple of three-pointers among her field goals and added three points at the free-throw line.

Cristen McClenathan supported with 12 points for the Cats, and Kristin Ozawa joined the others in double digits with 10 points.

Julie Pugliese had six points for the Wildcats, Tara Eichenger and Erin Cook added four points apiece, and Brett Sickler hit two.

The decision was never really in doubt in the third-place battle. Gatos jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the first period, then blanked Silver Creek 21-0 in the second quarter to take a commanding 39-8 lead in at intermission. Gatos outscored the Raiders in both the third and fourth periods on the road to the easy win.

Things weren't quite as easy a game earlier, for either Los Gatos or Fremont. The clubs battled to a 37-37 tie through regulation before the Firebirds topped the Cats 10-3 in overtime to pull out the win. Fremont went on to beat Palo Alto 57-51 in the tournament championship game.

Shishido led the Wildcats with 11 points, including a three-point bucket. Beritzhoff added 10 points for the Cats.

Sickler finished with six points, Eichenger five, Ozawa four and Pugliese and McClenathan two apiece.

Fremont led 8-4 at the first buzzer, but Gatos came on strong in the second quarter to outscore the Lady Birds 16-6 to take a 20-14 lead by intermission. Fremont fought back to move in front 34-33 after three periods and Gatos edged the Birds 4-3 in the fourth to tie it up and send the game into overtime.

Fremont came out on top in the extra period to clinch the win and advance to the tourney finals.

Gatos had opened the tourney by romping to a 23-point win over Live Oak, 56-33.

Beritzhoff led the Wildcats with 15 points, and Shishido hit a three on her way to 14. Rachelle Townsend chipped in with seven points, McClenathan and Pugliese hit six apiece, Cook had four, and Ozawa and Stephanie Anderson added two each.

Gatos jumped out to a quick lead by opening up a 16-8 lead in the first period, and the Cats stretched that to a 12-point advantage by halftime, 28-16. The Wildcats dominated the Acorns 14-5 in the third to lead by 21, then coasted from there to the win.

Leigh girls fall

Kimberly Schlief jammed in 31 points, but the Leigh girls basketball team dropped a 55-54 heartbreaker to Pioneer in a nonleague game last week.

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