By DICK SPARRER
John Melvin was talkin' defense.
But his Prospect girls' basketball team was rather offensive in the Cupertino Holiday Tournament last week.
That's offensive in a good way, at least from Prospect's perspective.
The Panthers poured in 184 points in three games to win the Cupertino title just two weeks after they'd won the crown at the Gilroy Tournament.
Following the championship performance at Gilroy, Melvin said, "This seems to be one of the strongest defensive teams we've had."
But the other teams in the Cupertino field might disagree.
Oh, sure, the Panthers can play defense. But they can also throw that ball in the net.
Prospect whipped Fremont 60-38, crushed Wilcox 57-24 and pounded Mountain View 67-42 to cruise to the tourney title at Cupertino.
Cupertino finished seventh in the tournament that it hosted, but the Pioneers had to battle from behind for a 49-48 win over rival Fremont to pull out the win on the tourney's final day.
The Pioneers trailed 36-34 heading into the final period, but they outscored the Indians 17-12 to claim the one-point victory.
Junior guard Gina Paradiso tossed in 11 points to lead all Cupertino scorers in the win. Pauletta Givens, Diana Tsukamoto and Jennifer Naranjo fired in 10 points each for the Pioneers. Stacey Zuccaro added six points and Amelie Williams hit two.
Cupertino had suffered a couple of tough losses in the first two rounds of the eight-team tournament. The Pioneers lost their opener 37-31 to Del Mar, then fell 44-39 to Milpitas.
Williams topped 'Tino with 11 points in the loss to the Dons. Paradiso had eight points, Givens and Naranjo four each, Regina Estrada two and Tsukamoto and Zuccaro one apiece.
The Pioneers, now 3-5 for the year, lost by five to Milpitas in the second round of the tourney despite a 12-point effort by Naranjo. Givens and Tsukamoto tossed in nine points apiece, Paradisa had four, Williams hit three and Zuccaro added two.
Earlier in the week, Cupertino dropped a 57-37 nonleague decision to Independence. Givens jammed 17 points to lead the Pioneers. Tsukamoto added six and Naranjo had four.
Fremont Tournament
Lynbrook and host Fremont both rebounded from a first-round loss in the Fremont-Sunnyvale Tournament with victories last week--but the Cupertino boys' basketball team wasn't quite so lucky.
All three clubs lost in first-round action, but Lynbrook fought back to knock off Mountain View 37-29 and Fremont bounced back with a 54-39 win over Silver Creek.
Cupertino, though, dropped a tough 58-42 decision to Del Mar.
Sophomore guard Danny Page tossed in 14 points and 6-foot-7 senior center Mike Mathiesen added 11, but the Pioneers dropped a 58-42 nod to Del Mar.
David Zuck and Robert Bartholomew chipped in with five points apiece and Ravon Walker hit three.
The Pioneers are on the road this week to visit Del Mar on Dec. 21, 7 p.m.
Cupertino will open play in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after Christmas break, and head coach Jack Holtorf is hoping that games played through the holidays will prepare his club for the tough league season.
"We need our young, inexperienced players to meld with Mike," he said, referring to three-year starter and returning all-leaguer Mike Mathiesen. "Much depends on the development of last year's frosh-soph players and two seniors."
Bartholomew and Eme Hernandez join Mathiesen as the lone seniors on the Cupertino squad that won a share of the El Camino Division championship last year.
Zuck, Walker, Page and Grant Yokoshima are top prospects on the floor for the Pioneers this season.
Matadors nail win
Kristin Franklin pumped in 20 points and Kristin Coolidge fired in 18 to lead the Monta Vista girls' basketball team to a 59-49 win over Ursuline of Santa Rosa.
The Matadors improved to 7-0 for the year with the victory.
Vikes edge Falcons
Yvonne Tseng accounted for over half of Lynbrook's points in a low-scoring 23-20 win over Saratoga in nonleague play last week.
Tseng tossed in 12 points to finish as the only player in double digits in the game.
Lynbrook improved to 2-3 with the win.
Earlier in the week the Vikings had turned back Leigh 46-35. Tseng drained three three-pointers on the road to a 19-point night.
Mustangs split
Steve Lundell scored 36 points in two games, but the Homestead boys' basketball team could manage just a split in nonleague action last week.
Matt Hall poured in 17 points and Lundell supported with 15 points in Homestead's 64-48 win over North Valley. Hall hit a couple of three-pointers and Lundell popped one.
Scott Belion tossed in 12 points for the winners. Chung Lai added five, Jeff Milton four, Minho Hyun three and Jeremie Braun, Yasuhisa Kikuta and Brian Blasquez two each. Lai and Huyn each hit three-pointers.
Lundell came back with 21 points, but Homestead lost a 60-46 nod to Piedmont Hills.
The Mustangs were up 12-9 at the first buzzer, but were outscored 20-4 in a devastating second period.
Lai drilled three threes to finish with nine points. Hall hit two field goals, including a three, to finish with five points and Belion and Milton added four points apiece. Braun finished with three points.
The Mustangs slipped to 4-3 with the loss.
This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, Wednesday, December 20, 1995.
©1995 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserve