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There was a relentlessness to Palo Alto High’s play in its 45-33 victory over San Marin in the first round of the Northern California girls basketball Division III regionals Tuesday night.
The Vikings opened with full-court pressure and kept that tempo on offense, with players and the ball constantly moving. It didn’t always result in a great look or great shot, and Palo Alto made its share of turnovers. But it was clear from the opening tip that anyone with a notion of beating the Vikings was going to have to work hard in the attempt.
No. 6 seeded Palo Alto (19-8) next plays host to Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division rival Los Gatos, the No. 14 seed, which beat Placer in Auburn, 53-50.
The quarterfinal game will be at Palo Alto on Thursday at 7 p.m. It will be the fourth meeting between the teams, the second at Paly.
Palo Alto’s 34-32 loss to Menlo-Atherton in the Central Coast Section Division I final four days earlier had some residual effects.
“We were obviously very sad about our CCS championship loss,” Palo Alto sophomore forward Elif Turgut said. “Our game plan … I don’t know how to put this in nicer words … was to crush them, to get our anger out.”
Palo Alto coach Scott Peters sent wave after wave at San Marin (21-11), the North Coast Section Division III runner-up. Ten Vikings played in the first half alone. The play could get a bit sloppy – Palo Alto turned the ball over 15 times and only shot 33 percent (17 of 52) from the field – but it also wore down San Marin.
The Mustangs of Novato, relied almost exclusively on the full-court dashes of Ariel Anderson, who scored a game-high 15 points and had seven rebounds, four steals, and two shot blocks. But by the fourth quarter, she was gassed. Palo Alto held San Marin to only 21 percent (10 of 48) from the field.
“We have a young team and you’ve got to try to play them,” said Peters, whose entire starting lineup will return next year. “They don’t get better unless you play them, and practice isn’t enough. They’ve got to have that pressure of the game. They’re going to make mistakes and we’ve got to live with it. That’s how they get better.”
Palo Alto scored the first basket, on a 3 by Delaney Ball, and the Vikings led wire to wire.
Palo Alto got contributions throughout the roster. Julia Heiden led the team with 12 points, but look at these numbers: Ball had eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists, and six points.
Ilayda Turgut had eight rebounds, four points, three assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. And Carly Martin had eight rebounds, five points, three assists, and three steals.
“Each game, we’ve got to enjoy it,” Peters said. “Enjoy it, from here it’s do or die. Not a lot of teams are here from our section, so we’ve got to make sure we appreciate our opportunity.”