The Palo Alto girls basketball team can clinch its second straight Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division title and third in four years when Los Gatos (9-11, 4-5) visits Friday at 6:15 p.m.
The Vikings (15-5, 9-0) have a three-game lead over Wilcox with three games to play after handling crosstown rival Gunn, 55-38, earlier this week. Senior Carly Leong led Paly with 18 points and freshman Annika Shah added 12.
Senior Chloe Gong led the Titans with 13 points while junior Amber Fu and Jessalyn Grant-Bier combined for another 15 points.
Pinewood (19-1, 7-0) can clinch at least a tie for its fifth consecutive West Bay Athletic League championship, and its 19th league title over the past 21 years, when it travels to Sacred Heart Prep for a 6 p.m. game Friday.
The Panthers are on a 15-game winning streak and a 43-game regular-season league winning streak. They average 74.6 points in WBAL play and allow 39.3, easily the best in both categories.
Hannah Jump (17.2), Klara Astrom (15.3) and Bri Claros (11.1) each average in double figures in scoring. Astrom, an under-sized post player, averages 7.3 rebounds. Trinity Copeland averages 6.6 and Jump is at 5.4. Claros averages 4.2 assists.
Pinewood has connected on 195 3-pointers, with Jump making 74 of them and Astrom 46. Menlo School has made 174, with Mallory North leading the way with 55. Paly’s Carly Leong has made 68 of her team’s 147 3-pointers. Eastside has made 101, with junior Zion Gabriel sinking 47.
Eastside Prep (16-5, 5-2), which plays at Notre Dame-Belmont at 6 p.m. Friday, is an elite team. Only Mitty and Pinewood rank ahead of the Panthers in most CCS rankings. The team features one of the most versatile point guards in the section in senior Kayla Tahaafe, who leads the team in scoring (14.2), rebounding and assists. Gabriel averages 13.9.
Menlo (14-6, 2-5) plays at Priory (10-11, 3-4) at 6:30 p.m. Priory has a pair of top-notch players in Ila Lane and Tatiana Reese. Dominique Robson has had a solid stretch the past few weeks.
In addition to North, freshman Avery Lee has been a solid addition for Menlo.
Menlo-Atherton lost Wednesday at Sequoia 43-40, just the second league loss for the Bears in the four years Markisha Coleman has been the head coach and the first since Capuchino beat M-A, 54-53, on Jan. 14, 2015.
With two games remaining, the Bears are tied with Aragon for the league lead and would earn the top seed into the PAL tournament if the two teams remained tied based on M-A’s win over the Dons. Seniors Greer Hoyem and Carly McLanahan have been the Bears’ dominant players.
M-A (15-7, 9-1) plays at Woodside (3-15, 1-9) at 6:15 p.m. Friday and ends the regular season at Burlingame (14-8, 5-5) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Aragon (18-4, 9-1) hosts Hillsdale (11-8, 3-6) on Friday and Carlmont (18-4, 8-2) on Tuesday. Sequoia (16-6, 7-3) is at Carlmont on Friday.
Boys basketball
Palo Alto won its 17th straight, beating host Homestead 69-54 with Spencer Rojahn recording a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Max Dorward scoring a game-high 26 points.
The Vikings (19-2, 9-0) can clinch at least a title tie with a win over visiting Los Gatos (16-5, 7-2) on Friday at 7:45 p.m. They can also take another step toward their first undefeated league season in five years.
Menlo School (20-1, 11-0) can clinch its second straight WBAL title with a win at Crystal Springs Uplands (4-17, 0-11) at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The Knights are coming off a 65-40 victory over host Harker in which Riley Woodson scored 27 points on 10-of-12 (.830) shooting.
Second-place Sacred Heart Prep (11-10, 9-2) can secure at least a .500 overall record when it hosts third-place Priory (13-8, 6-5) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Eastside Prep (15-6, 5-6) is at Pinewood (11-9, 5-6) for a 7 p.m. game.
Gunn (12-9, 9-1) is closing in on the SCVAL El Camino Division title and can win it outright with a victory over host Santa Clara (14-7, 6-3) on Friday at 7:45 p.m. The Bruins are 10-0 at home this season.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports