GIRLS BASKETBALL: Physical Tigers Edge Paly

The Score: Terra Nova 65, Palo Alto 60.

The Star: Terra Nova High’s Ivonne CookTaylor attacked the Vikings’ defense on the break and in the set offense all night and scored a game-high 18 points.

The Turning Point: Terra Nova’s Terilyn Moe drained all three free throws with 3:13 left in the game to give the Tigers a 63-53 lead -- a big enough cushion to hold off one last charge by resilient Palo Alto.

The Quote: "We’re a very strong, physical team.” – Terra Nova coach Kareem Summerville.

What's Next? Terra Nova returns to Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division action by hosting San Mateo today at 6 p.m. Both teams are 2-0 in league play.

The Bottom Line: This was a very physical game between two teams that figure to make some noise in the Central Coast Section next month. If the teams were looking to use this one-game hiatus from league play as a playoff tune-up, then both came away with what they were looking for.

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The Fourth Annual Martin Luther King Game Day Event, held on Monday at Terra Nova High, was a chance for 16 girls basketball teams to honor a famous man and come together on the court for a non-league game.

Host Terra Nova and Palo Alto -- playing in the next-to-last game of the eight-game event -- certainly took the coming together part to heart, resulting in players spending almost as much time laying on the court as they did running on it.

By the time the final horn had sounded, the host Tigers survived to claim a 65-60 victory over Palo Alto in a very physical contest.

“We are a very strong and physical team,” said Tigers coach Kareem Summerville. “We wanted to wear them down and beat them with our aggressiveness and speed.”

It appeared at times throughout the contest that Terra Nova (11-4) was going to wear down and run away from the Vikings (10-3), who were coming in riding an eight-game win streak. But every time the Tigers began to pull away, Palo Alto would rally back to either take a slight lead or get back to within a handful of points.

“We had runs, they had runs,” Summerville said. “But we were able to get some key defensive stops at the end.”

Ivonne CookTaylor led all scorers with 18 points, sparking the Tigers with several points on the break and attacking the basket out of the set offense. Terilyn Moe added 17 – 12 from the line – and Malia Elliott Tufono had 16, draining a trio of 3-pointers for Terra Nova.

Moe had three critical free throws late in the game after getting fouled by Palo Alto’s Emilee Osagiede on a three-point attempt with 3:13 left. Moe’s free throws gave the Tigers a 63-53 lead, just enough of a cushion to hold off the Vikings’ final run of the night.

Jayzyl Tauala converted two free throws in the final seconds, giving her 11 points for the game, to account for the final score and end any hopes of a Vikings’ comeback.

Palo Alto was led by Osagiede’s 16 points. Shamelia Clay added 13 points in a losing effort.

“It was a tough game,” Palo Alto coach Scott Peters said. “We found some things tonight that we need to do better next time.”

But Peters did find one very good positive to take from Monday’s game.

“We kept battling back, kept going after them,” Peters said.

Terra Nova returns to the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division action by hosting San Mateo tonight in a first-place battle. Both teams are 2-0 in league play.

“We’ve played seven very tough teams already this year,” Summerville said. “San Mateo is another one.” 

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Terra Nova 65, Palo Alto 60

PA – 13 16 12 19 -- 60

TN -- 17 13 20 15 – 65

PA: Allen 2 4-6 9, Osagiede 5 5-5 16, Davis 1 0-2 2, Clay 6 0-0 13, Palmer 4 0-2 8, Butler 3 0-0 6, Peterson 2 2-2 6. Totals 23 11-18 60.

TN: Taylor 9 0-1 18, Moe 2 12-15 17, M. Tufono 5 3-6 16, Tauala 3 4-4 11, Smathers 1 1-2 3. Totals 20 20-28 65.

3-point goals: PA: Allen, Osagiede, Clay. TN: Moe, Tufono 3, Tauala.

Records: Palo Alto 10-3. Terra Nova 11-4.