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The Pinewood girls' basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) with a 57-47 victory over host Castilleja on Tuesday night.

Sophomores Marissa Hing and Gabi Bade each tallied 15 points for the Panthers (3-0, 13-3) while sophomore Morgan Tomberlin had a season-high 14. The Panthers made 13 of 43 three-point attempts, the most made and attempted ever allowed by Castilleja.

Sophomore Paige Vermeer led the Gators (0-3, 3-12) with a career-high 22 points and four assists. She made six 3-pointers, also a career high. Yasmeen Afifi added 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-tying four blocks.

Pinewood took over first place alone thanks to Sacred Heart Prep, which made its first WBAL Foothill Division victory a big one by upending first-place and host Menlo School, 48-47.

The Gators improved to 1-2 in league (13-4 overall) while the Knights fell to 2-1 and 12-5.

Sacred Heart Prep 5-foot-7 senior Melissa Holland, matched up against 6-4 Menlo senior Drew Eldeman all night, played an outstanding game and led all players with a season-high 29 points and double-digit rebounds. Holland also factored in the winning points.

With seven seconds on the clock and the score tied, Holland took the ball the length of the court and was fouled on the way to the basket with 1.5 seconds on the clock. After missing the first free throw, Holland made her second attempt for the victory.

In East Palo Alto, host Eastside Prep moved into a tie for second place with a 63-27 romp over defending league champ Mercy-San Francisco. The Panthers improved to 2-1 in league (10-5 overall) and next will visit Pinewood on Friday at 6:30 p.m., with a chance to force a possible three-way tie for the division lead.

Boys' basketball
In a game pitting the best against the worst, Palo Alto held on to first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division with a 56-25 victory over visiting Cupertino on Tuesday night.

The Vikings (5-0, 14-1) won their 12th straight game by jumping out to a 19-4 first-quarter lead and extending it to 38-12 by halftime. Junior post Keller Chryst was dominant inside with a season-high 17 points while senior Aubrey Dawkins added 12.

In the SCVAL El Camino Division, Gunn dropped a 62-48 decision to visiting Santa Clara. Chris Russell and Patrick Skelly combined for 23 points for the Titans (0-4, 3-11), who held a 16-11 first-quarter lead.

In the WBAL, Menlo School built a 10-point halftime lead and coasted to a 58-34 victory over host Eastside Prep on Tuesday. The Knights improved to 3-1 in league (7-7 overall).

"The difference tonight was our ability to adapt playing on a smaller court," said Menlo coach Delandro Leday. "We did a really good job of taking care of the ball and pushing the ball to put pressure on the zone to get back."

After Eastside Prep grabbed an 11-9 first-quarter lead, Menlo began forcing turnovers and senior guard Bobby Roth found his shooting touch with eight points in the second quarter to help Menlo grab a 31-21 halftime lead.

"Our guys tonight woke up in the second quarter and picked up the pressure," Leday said. "Our offense is becoming more potent, in terms of each guy on the court has the ability to do something positive."

Roth led Menlo with 15 points with Mikey Diekroeger adding 12 and Ryan Young 11.

Girls' soccer
Menlo School defeated host King's Academy, 2-1, to remain unbeaten in West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) girls' soccer action on Tuesday in Sunnyvale. Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities as the momentum swung back and forth. Menlo junior Sienna Stritter scored a goal in each half to spark the Knights (3-0, 5-2-4) to their victory.

Stritter's first goal came in the 30th minute off a nice penetrating pass from freshman Elena Gray. Stritter calmly placed her 15-yard shot into the corner of the goal. King's got the equalizer in the 39th minute when Michelle Maemone scored on a penalty kick. In the 17th minute of the second half, junior Emma LaPorte set Stritter up on a beautiful feed and Stritter again showed composure and great accuracy beating the goalkeeper from 12 yards out.

King's stepped up its attack and put a lot of pressure on Menlo in the final 15 minutes. Menlo senior keeper Kelly McConnell came up big, making numerous excellent saves and defender Jamie Corley cleared a loose ball off the goal line late to preserve the win. In particular, junior Amanda McFarland was instrumental in limiting the explosive King's attack to just one goal. Each team had nine shots on goal while McConnell recorded eight saves.

In Atherton, Sacred Heart Prep solidified its hold on second place in the WBAL Foothill Division with a 2-0 victory over visiting Crystal Springs on Tuesday. The Gators (3-0-1, 7-1-2) got on the board in the 18th minute when Kendall Jager assisted on a goal by Alex Bourdillon. In the 65th minute, Jager wrapped things up with an unassisted goal.

In San Jose, Castilleja and host Notre Dame-San Jose played to a 3-3 deadlock.

In Los Altos Hills, Pinewood got a second-half goal from freshman Amrita Mecker off an assist from freshman Kelly Branson as the Panthers earned a 1-1 deadlock with Mercy-Burlingame in WBAL Skyline Division action. Pinewood (5-0-1, 6-3-2) and Mercy (3-0-1) are mathematically tied for the division lead.

Boys' soccer
Menlo-Atherton and Burlingame played to a scoreless deadlock in PAL Bay Division action Tuesday on the Bears' field.

— Palo Alto Online Sports/Menlo Athletics

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