The varsity girls basketball team came to Mountain View High School (MVHS) today, January 30, looking to take a clear lead in the SCVAL Standings.  Coming in with a league record of 7-1, the Eagles looked to knock the 6-2 Spartans into their rear view mirror.

The Eagles entered the first quarter in their accustomed press that had worked so well against the Spartans in previous games. The team shared the ball flawlessly, finding senior Meghan McDermott and freshman Meg Enthoven in the post. When the Spartans’ outside threat senior Bailey Polisso started out the game with a three-pointer, Los Altos quickly made an adjustment switching to a box-and-one with junior Kelly Hamamoto attaching herself to the Bailey’s hip. Both teams pressured and shared the ball as the first quarter ended 15-13 in the Eagles’ favor.

In the second quarter, the Spartans began to pick up the pressure on their full court defense and started to force Los Altos to turn the ball over.

Meg kept Los Altos in the game by knocking down her baseline jumper throughout the quarter as she had done all season to keep Los Altos close, and MVHS ended the half up 18-17.

The second half became the collapse of the Eagles as the momentum turned over to Los Altos on a blown call. As Meghan went to grab a loose ball in the air but could not fully obtain the ball, a MVHS player tipped it before it went out of bounds. Although one referee made the call saying that the Spartans had tipped it out, the baseline referee overturned the call. The ball went to the Spartans, and the action swayed the momentum for the rest of the game.

The Eagles would start coughing up the ball to the hustling Spartans’ defense, which converted those turnovers into fast break baskets.  This lead the end of the third quarter, with MVHS up 33-24.

The game was seemingly lost with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter. As senior Tianna Vasquez dribbled up-court on the fast break, she made a bounce pass to senior Ideen Seyed. However, as the pass went past, Bailey threw her foot out, kicking it into another MVHS player’s awaiting hands. The referees made no call as they let play continue, while Los Altos fans cried out in disagreement.

The game finally ended with a loss for the Eagles at 36-44. Los Altos and MVHS are now tied atop the league leaderboard, and these two teams, both looking to claim the division title, will be fighting tooth-and-nails for the rest of the season.