Basketball: Woodside beats M-A, heads for playoffs Basketball: Woodside beats M-A, heads for playoffs (February 16, 2005)

By Max Schneider

Woodside High student

Woodside High's boys basketball team walloped Menlo-Atherton 63-45 on February 11 to cap a regular season when Woodside lost just once.

The Wildcats tied Burlingame for the championship of the PAL South Division with a record of 22-5 (13-1 in league play). However, because Burlingame beat Woodside during the regular season, Woodside will be seeded second in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, M-A, while it dropped to 13-11 (8-6) and a tie for the fourth place with Aragon, will go into the playoffs as fourth seed because it beat Aragon last week.
Woodside/M-A

The February 11 game, played at M-A, was close early, but Woodside broke away in the second quarter, and had a 40-30 lead at halftime. The Wildcats pulled out even further in the third quarter, limiting M-A to 7 points. They went on an 11-4 run in the final period to limit any hope of a Bears comeback.

Dominic Cruz-Duncan had 19 points for a balanced Woodside offense, with Eric Berman contributing six points, eight rebounds and four assists. Dan Trautman scored 16 points in his second game back for the Bears, and Carson Finkle added 13.

In their other game last week, Woodside routed San Mateo at home, 62-27, on February 9. James Sandoval had 13 points and Humphrey Jackson 9 to lead the Wildcats.

M-A was victorious in its other game last week, beating Aragon away from home, 64-47. Finkle led the Bears with 22 points, and Trautman was big in his first game back from an ankle injury, scoring 18 points.
Girls basketball

The Woodside girls basketball team won a close game at M-A, 46-43. The Wildcats ended the season at 17-11 (7-7) and fifth place in the PAL South Division and M-A finished at 12-14 (4-10) and seventh place.

The game was fairly close throughout, but Woodside had a 36-28 advantage late in the third quarter when M-A's Christina Dixon got ejected for arguing a foul. The loss of one of their best players sparked the Bears, and they cut the lead to 40-38 at the start of the fourth quarter.

After Woodside pulled out to 45-40, Ann Wolters made a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within 2. Those were the last points they would score, though, and Woodside ended as victors.

Jasmine Lewis led the Wildcats with 19 points, while Mika Kosaka added a season-high 14 points. Karley Marty led M-A with 10 points.

The Wildcats won their other game this week too, beating San Mateo on the road, 50-42, on February 9. Courtnei Taylor paced Woodside with 16 points, and Maria Haga scored 12.

M-A, on the other hand, ended its disappointing season with eight losses in its last 10 games. On February 9, M-A lost to Aragon at home, 64-54. Dixon had a career-high 23 points in the game, and Wolters added 12.

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