Publication Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
M-A girls, Palo Alto boys win hoop titles
M-A girls, Palo Alto boys win hoop titles
(December 14, 2005) by Keith Peters
The Menlo-Atherton girls and Palo Alto boys made the most of their travels last week, both earning basketball tournament championships.
Perhaps more important, however, was what the coaches learned about their teams.
M-A coach Pam Wimberly took her varsity and frosh-soph teams to Edmonton, Canada, for the annual REB Tournament, and the Bears returned with their first title there since 1990.
"It was a bonding trip for all included," Wimberly said. "It was a chance to meet new people, see new places and experience new things. It's a different style of basketball up there, more aggressive . . . We didn't have one problem. It was an outstanding trip for kids 13-18 years old."
The Bears (5-1) opened with a 59-52 win over Holy Cross, followed that with a 64-57 triumph over host Jasper Place High and topped the trip with a 75-63 victory over O'Leary.
Junior guard Christina Dixon scored 39 points in the three wins and was named MVP of the tournament, impressing the local crowd with her hustle and defense. M-A senior Ann Sbardellati also was named to the all-tournament team for her 37 points and rebounding.
"We saw some good things happening out there with our post players," said Wimberly, whose players matched up well with two Division I prospects.
The Palo Alto boys (6-0) didn't have to travel as far, venturing to Santa Cruz. The Vikings also swept three games and came away with the championship in the annual Dad's Club event.
Paly opened with a 72-46 win over San Lorenzo Valley, followed that with a 57-55 overtime win over St. Francis and held off highly regarded Paso Robles for the title, 54-53.
Senior guard Jeremy Lin scored 37 points in the three wins and was named MVP. Forward Steven Brown led the Vikings with 60 points, making 11 three-pointers, to earn all-tourney honors along with fellow senior Kheaton Scott.
Paly coach Peter Diepenbrock looked at the tourney experience a number of ways. First, he was able to get a handful of players returning from football a chance to get some much-needed playing time.
"All six seniors probably got a lot of confidence by beating a team (Paso Robles) that was considered bigger than us," Diepenbrock said. "We played against two teams that really tested us."
St. Francis pressed Paly full court most of the game while a taller Paso Robles forced the Vikings into a halfcourt game. What Diepenbrock like best from those two games was the fact both opponents had the final possession in each game and Paly's defense held firm.
In addition to that, Diepenbrock used the tourney to "identify what our strengths and weaknesses are. After that, establishing a game plan that will give us our best chance," he said.
In the championship game, Brown had 14 points in the first quarter and Lin added 10 in the second quarter to spark the Vikings to an early lead.
In other tournament action last week:
The Menlo School boys (8-1) had their eight-game winning streak to open the season end in a 57-45 loss to Riordan in the finals of the Burlingame Lions Tournament. Blake Schultz and Beau Heidrich were named to the all-tournament team along with Gunn junior Peter Jordan, who scored 78 points in three games as the Titans (4-4) finished fourth. Menlo-Atherton's Spencer Montgomery also was an all-tourney choice.
The Eastside Prep boys (4-4) won third-place honors in the Wilcox Charger Classic as Mobolaji David scored 42 points.
The defending Division V state champion Pinewood girls (2-1) held on for third place in the Notre Dame-Belmont Holiday Classic following a 42-20 win over Presentation. Those teams could face each other again Friday in the semifinals of the Pinewood Classic, which tips off Wednesday night.
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