The Wildcats open postseason play on Feb. 25, 7 p.m., at Woodside. The Cats are the No. 12 seed in the division with an 11-15 season record and Woodside is the No. 5 seed at 19-10. The winner will face the Cupertino (No. 13, 14-12)-Leigh (No. 4, 20-7) winner on Feb. 28, 1 p.m. at Oak Grove. The Pioneers visit the Longhorns on Feb. 25, 7 p.m.

It takes either a .500 season record or .500 league mark to earn an automatic berth in the playoffs. Los Gatos had neither, finishing 5-7 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after a tough 51-45 loss to league champ Palo Alto last Friday. But the Wildcats petitioned for entry into the tourney and won a berth.

It was an important 54-43 win over Wilcox early in the week that helped the Cats secure their playoff spot.

Sophomore Jordan Vandenberg had the hot hand for the Wildcats in the win, pumping in nine field goals and tossing in three free throws to finish with a game-high 21 points.

Senior Mike Robards supported with nine points, Chris Cuthbert had eight, Vince Belloti hit six and Ted Hull added four.

Los Gatos jumped out to a quick 18-9 first-period lead against the winless Chargers and then hung on for the 11-point victory.

But things didn't go as well later in the week against Paly. The Vikings moved out to a 25-15 lead by the half, then held off a late run by the Cats to claim the win. Palo Alto finished the league season with an 11-1 record to nab the title.

Vandenberg led the Cats with 12 points and Hull and Matt Martini each finished in double digits with 10 points apiece. Martini buried two three-pointers for the Wildcats, a rare feat for a club that's done most of its scoring inside.

Roberts chipped in with eight points and Belloti rounded out the scoring with five.

Girls in playoffs

Despite a rough 3-9 ride in the De Anza Division season, the Los Gatos girls have also clinched a berth in the CCS Division II playoffs.

The Wildcats (No. 13 seed, 12-13) will visit Leland (No. 4, 19-5) on Feb. 26, 7 p.m., with the winner to face the Woodside (No. 12, 15-11)-Palo Alto (No. 5, 21-6) winner on Feb. 28, 1 p.m., at Mt. Pleasant. Woodside will visit Paly on Feb. 25, 7 p.m.

Los Gatos finished the regular season with a 43-38 loss to division co-champion Palo Alto.

Guard Jessica Norvelle tossed in a pair of threes among her five field goals and added a free throw to lead the Cats with 13 points.

Madeline Rose supported with seven points, Katy McClenathan hit five, Annie Green and Diane Carr had four apiece, Desiree McEntee added three and Monica Thomas had two.

Earlier in the week, Gatos had faced Saratoga and lost 46-42—to the other league co-champ.

Norvelle had the hot had in that one, too. She had three three-pointers among her five field goals and she added three points at the free-throw line to finish with 16 points for the night.

McClenathan added eight points, McEntee hit seven and Rose and Bailey Richardson added five apiece. Richardson and McEntee each hit three-point buckets.

Things hadn't gone any better for the Cats a week earlier when they fell 46-36 to Lynbrook and 62-55 to Milpitas.

McClenathan tossed in 16 points, but the Cats lost to Lynbrook. Norvelle had a three among her seven points and Richardson, Rose and Monica Thomas had three points each. Geselle Birang and Green added two points apiece.

Rose buried 20 points and Norvelle and Thomas had nine each, but the Cats lost to Milpitas. Birang hit six points, McClenathan and Richardson four apiece and Green three.