Gatos girls roll to two wins

Fisher girls win sixth-grade basketball championship

By Dick Sparrer

Christmas week is a busy time for everyone.

But no one was any busier last week than girls basketball players at Los Gatos High.

Not only did the Wildcats have to prepare for the annual festivities of December the 25th, they also had to prepare to play two nonleague basketball games.

Los Gatos spent the first week of winter break battling Live Oak and Woodside in two games in preparation for the upcoming season in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

And Christmas came early for the Wildcats, who won both games--beating the Acorns 53-37 and the Wildcats of Woodside 64-44.

Senior guard Nancy Shishido and sophomore guard Michelle Beritzhoff tossed in 15 points apiece to lead the Wildcats to the win over Woodside last Thursday. Cristen McClenathan, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, supported with 14 points and sophomore Julia Pugliese joined the others in double digits with 10 points.

Tara Eichenger tossed in six points in the win and Nicole Anderson and Erin Cook rounded out the scoring with two points each.

Gatos outscored Woodside in each of the four periods, opening up a 34-25 lead by intermission and coasting from there to the victory.

Los Gatos, now 7-2 for the year, had beaten Live Oak a day earlier. Kristin Ozawa had 11 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Wildcats, who had 10 players get into the scoring column in the game.

Beritzhoff finished with eight points for Gatos, Eichinger and Brett Sickler had seven apiece, Rachelle Townsend hit six, Shishido and McClenathan four each, Katrina Sortino three, Pugliese two and Anderson one.

Gatos had a little tougher time with the Acorns. The Cats led 10-4 after a period but couldn't add to that lead in the second period when the clubs matched 13 points. Live Oak cut the lead by a point in the third, but the Wildcats outscored the Acorns 19-7 in the fourth to post the easy win.

Fisher girls

In girls basketball action at the middle school level, the Fisher sixth-grade team posted an undefeated season. The Fisher girls knocked off Rolling Hills in the finals of the league tournament to wrap up a 12-0 season.

Liz Rose and Monica Thomas were named the team's co-most valuable players.

Joining them on the championship team were Mandy Halbert, Francesca Caselli, Elly Condes, Chelsea Fallon, Stephanie Girsback, Kelsey Hodge, Stephanie Hodgman, Samantha Morales, Andria Payne, Jolyn Robards, Maira Talpas, Stephanie Wilcox and Maggie Yang.

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