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Fremont hoops roll to title at Westmont
Tulowitzki buries 74 points in tourney
By Dick Sparrer
The big storm didn't hit the Santa Clara Valley until last Saturday night.
But it was raining earlier in the week over at Westmont High School in Campbell ... indoors.
The event was the annual Westmont Tournament, and the showers hit Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings when Fremont's Troy Tulowitzki was raining three-pointers in leading the Firebirds to the tournament championship.
Tulowitzki poured in 10 three-pointers on his way to a three-night total of 74 points to lead Fremont to wins over Prospect (55-39), Westmont (61-50) and Piedmont Hills (59-45).
Tulowitzki dropped three threes on his way to a 20-point night in Fremont's 14-point win over Piedmont in the tourney title game last Friday night.
Jessie Enchill pitched in 16 points for Fremont in the game as the Firebirds outscored the Pirates in every period but the fourth.
Tulowitzki's biggest game of the tourney came in the semifinals when he bombed six threes on the road to a 31-point in Fremont's 61-50 win over host Westmont.
Jacob Esau, a three-year starter for the Firebirds, chipped in with 18 points in the win.
Tulowitzki opened the tourney with 23 points in the 55-39 victory over Prospect. He had a three among his nine field goals and added four points at the free-throw line.
Enchill contributed 14 points in the win and Esau buried 10. Delainy Duran supported with five.
No Consolation
The Fremont girls, meanwhile, played for the consolation championship at the Gilroy Tournament last weekend, but lost 46-42 to Gunderson in overtime.
The Lady Birds lost their opener, but fought back with a 42-39 win over Pacific Grove to move into the tournament's consolation finals.
Fremont trailed by a point after a period and by four at the half, 24-20, but fought back to outscore the Grizzlies 12-5 in the third to take a 32-29 lead.
Gunderson tied it by topping Fremont 13-10 in the final period, then blanked the Firebirds 4-0 in the extra period to pull out the win.
Senior guard Tiana Stroughter poured in 14 points to lead all Fremont scorers in the game. Danyll Gammon supported with 12 points, Katrina Ison hit 11 and Raquel Ledezma added five. Ison drilled three three-pointers and Ledezma had one.
Fremont had beaten Pacific Grove 42-39 to advance to the consolation finals. Ison led the Firebirds with 14 points, including a three.
Diana Sanchez had a three among her seven points and Stroughter added six points in the win. Gammon had five, Ledezma and Aneta Pariaszevski hit three apiece and Natalie Arias and Kelly Bushnell had two each.
Fremont outscored PG in each of the first three periods to open up an 11-point lead, but the Firebirds were outscored 16-8 in the fourth as Pacific Grove made a game of it.
"We're a young team, but we have high expectations," said Fremont coach Jason Townsend.
Ison (5-foot-3 senior guard), Gammon (5-foot-9 junior forward), Stroughter (5-foot-4 senior guard) and Ledezma (5-foot-4 junior guard) are all returning varsity players for the Lady Birds this season.
Top prospects on the varsity are Arias (5-foot-2 junior guard), Sanchez (5-foot-4 junior guard), Pariaszevski (5-foot-6 sophomore forward) and Bushnell (5-foot-10 freshman center).
"Everyone will play," added Townsend as he looks ahead to the season.
The coach looks to St. Francis and Palo Alto as the title favorites in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, but that season won't begin until Jan. 2. Right now he is more concerned about the clubs his team will run into at the Yerba Buena Tournament Dec. 6-8 in East San Jose.
Mustangs win
The Homestead girls basketball team opened the season with a 47-30 win over Carlmont--not bad for a squad that lost most of its players from last year's powerhouse team to graduation.
Head coach Judy Auclair is new to Homestead this winter, and most of her players are pretty new to the varsity.
"We have only one starter coming back, and she is a sophomore," said Auclair. "I'm a new coach at Homestead and they're getting to know me and I them."
Soph forward Mandy Wald is the lone comeback starter for the Mustangs, and she's joined by varsity returners Jenelle Kitasoe, a sophomore, and Stephanie Malcolm, a senior. The three figure to be key players for the Mustangs along with sophomore Bonnie Berridge.
Auclair calls the four the "players we will look to build upon" as Homestead tries to work its way back to the top of the standings.
"We are rebuilding and working from the JV program up to build for the future," added Auclair, who coached at Palo Alto for four years before moving to Homestead this season. She arrives just after the graduation of superstars Julia Randall and Tanya Green.
"Homestead lost two powerhouse players due to graduation, and it seems that in the past everything went to them on the court," she said. "This season, it must be a complete team effort for success, and players are not yet conditioned to that game atmosphere."
"We have no strong go-to player," she added. "It's a team effort or nothing will happen for us."
Plenty happened for the Mustangs in their season opener against Carlmont. Homestead fought back from a four-point halftime deficit to outscore the Scots 14-6 in the third and 16-3 in the fourth to claim a 17-point victory.
Malcolm had a pair of threes among her six field goals to lead the Mustangs with 14 points. Berridge joined the senior in double figures with 10 points and Kitasoe popped eight. Senior Lauren Tidwell had a three among her five points, junior Sophia Rivera hit four points and Shannon Wong, Elyse Maru and Joanna Harris had two each.
The Mustangs were to host Independence on Monday and Menlo Atherton on Tuesday in a couple of non-league games, and they will head to the Mt. Pleasant Tournament Dec. 5-7.
League play won't begin until Jan. 2 for the Mustangs, and Auclair looks to St. Francis and Palo Alto to be the favorites in the De Anza Division--the Lancers "due to inside strength and returning players," and the Vikings "due to perimeter shooters and quickness."
But she's also quick to point out that anything could happen this year.
"Anyone could make a good run for the gold," said the coach. "This could be a wild horse race season. There are a lot of new coaches around the league and the section."
Mitchell hits 40
Brent Mitchell got a little hot in the first round of the Overfelt Tipoff Classic.
But even though the 6-foot senior bombed 40 points, it wasn't enough to lead the Knights to a victory against San Jose Academy.
The Bulldogs pulled out a tight 67-66 win over the Knights in the first round of the tourney.
The loss, though, did little to tarnish the outstanding individual performance of Mitchell.
The senior had a couple of three-pointers among his 14 field goals, and he added 10 points at the free-throw line.
Aaron Scott and Nate Condie supported with seven points apiece in the game and David Flory had six.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
