March 05, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

It's a fitting finale in girls' CCS Division V basketball

by Keith Peters

Don't be deceived by the records for the Pinewood and Sacred Heart Prep girls' basketball teams. There's a reason why the two squads combined for 23 losses this season.

Pinewood lost nine games, all tough nonleague setbacks with a very young team. Sacred Heart Prep dropped 14 games, 11 of them by five points or less. Eight of the losses came in the extremely competitive West Catholic Athletic League.

Despite the Panthers' 15-9 mark and the Gators' 12-14 ledger, the two teams were seeded No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs and earned those seeds by reaching Saturday's section championship game at West Valley College in Saratoga. Tip off is 1:30 p.m. Both teams have qualified for the NorCal tournament, which begins Tuesday.

"We're looking at this as another challenge," said Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler. "We know what we're going to get. We won't be surprised by what they do, and I'm sure they won't be surprised by what we do."

Pinewood will shoot three-pointers and Sacred Heart Prep will shadow the Panthers all over the court.

"They do a terrific job at the defensive end," Scheppler said, whose team will test the Gators' defense from the perimeter. "We'll knock 'em down if they give us the 3's. They have to do a terrific job of defending us."

SHP coach Wendy Quattlebaum sees her team matching up well with Pinewood.

"They live and die with the 3-point shot, at least that's what they want to do - shoot the 3's," Quattlebaum said. "We'll run man to man. That's what we do."

It's fitting these two teams are playing for a title because they're among the most successful programs in CCS history. Sacred Heart Prep has won 12 section crowns and Pinewood has captured six straight since 1998.

Coincidently, '98 was the last time these teams met in the section final. Pinewood won that game, 56-28, avenging a 55-52 title-game loss to the Gators in 1997.

This latest installment in the long-standing rivalry is a toss up. Pinewood excels in its three-point shooting while Sacred Heart Prep focuses on a stifling defense.

Both teams went to their strengths Tuesday night while winning semifinals contests at Mercy-San Francisco. Pinewood shot well from the perimeter and kept No. 4 Castilleja in check during a 54-41 victory. Junior guard Daniela Roark led the way with 19 points.

In the other semifinal, Sacred Heart Prep shut down No. 3 Eastside Prep's outside shooting while dominating inside offensively during a 55-44 triumph. Junior Jessica Pecota scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds during a dominating inside performance.

Castilleja ended its fine season at 23-7 while defending champion Eastside Prep finished 21-5.

While Pinewood (now 16-9) has played in six straight D-5 section finals and Sacred Heart Prep (now 13-14) has been in four of the past five D-4 title games, the experience factor is misleading.

The Panthers graduated their entire starting lineup from last season and returned only three players - senior Liz Ashby, Roark, and sophomore Liz Altmaier. The Gators returned seven players.

"Experience? That doesn't bode well for players who haven't played there before," Scheppler said of his young squad. "Sacred Heart has had a lot of battles in their league, and we haven't . . . we're looking at this thing that we're the underdog."

Scheppler expects a tough, physical game with SHP.

"We just have to match their intensity," he said. "We can't be foolish and get into foul trouble."

Pinewood has nine players on its roster, but four are sophomores and three are freshmen. SHP, like Pinewood, has only one senior starter in Marissa Maffei.

The winner of Saturday's final will play a home game Tuesday to open the NorCal playoffs, while the loser will hit the road. The NorCal finals will be March 13 at Delta College in Stockton.

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