Basketball: Woodside girls win close game Basketball: Woodside girls win close game (January 26, 2005)

By Max Schneider

Special to the Almanac

The Woodside High School girls' team defeated Menlo-Atherton at Woodside, 51-45, on January 21, and improved their record to 13-8 (3-4 in league play). The win took them to sixth place, a rank ahead of rival M-A, which fell into a tie for seventh place with San Mateo with a 10-9 (2-5) record.

Woodside exhibited great shooting and showed its trademark toughness in the first quarter, grabbing an early double-digit lead. The Wildcats played with the same tenacity in the second period, grabbing many offensive rebounds that led to more scoring.

M-A was able to make a small run to cut the lead to 8, for a 31-23 deficit at the half.

The Bears came out with a much crisper offense and better shooting to start the second half and by the end of the third quarter had trimmed the advantage to 43-40.

Both teams traded baskets in the final period, but Woodside seemed to have the upper hand with its combination of strength and scoring (especially from the versatile Jasmine Lewis).

However, M-A got an opportunity when Woodside's junior guard Courtnei Taylor rolled her ankle and left the game with 2:03 remaining, and the Wildcats nursing a 48-44 lead. M-A could not control its fouls though, and sent numerous Woodside players to the free-throw line.

Star defender Ashlei Burley hit a free throw for Woodside with 27.6 seconds left, and junior M-A guard Karley Marty missed an open 3-pointer to quell any hopes of a last-second comeback.

Lewis scored her game-high 30 points on a variety of post moves, outside jumpers, and layups, and Arianne Smith added 15 for the Wildcats. Sophomore Christina Dixon paced the Bears with 14 points, while Marty contributed 10.

Woodside seems to be on the upswing after losing three straight games to start the regular season. In the past four games, the team has gone 3-1, losing only to Sequoia in a hard-fought match-up. On January 19, they routed San Mateo, 46-22, at home. Taylor had 12 points to lead a balanced and effective Woodside effort that shut down the opposition. Haidee Sui had 12 points for San Mateo.

Menlo-Atherton, in the midst of a five-game road trip, has been playing poorly in the recent weeks; they have won only once in their past five games. On January 19, the squad lost at Aragon, 66-40. Ann Sbardellati scored 10 points to lead the Bears, who had balanced scoring, but could not come back after trailing 42-14 at the half. Kerina Chiu scored a game-high 14 points for Aragon.

GAMES THIS WEEK: Woodside: January 26 against Mills at 3:15 p.m.; January 28 at Carlmont at 6:15 p.m. Menlo-Atherton: January 26 at Hillsdale at 3:15 p.m.; January 28 at Sequoia at 6:15 p.m.
Max Schneider is a sophomore at Woodside High School.

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