The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
The Coast Conference North women’s basketball race is in a virtual four-way knot among one-loss teams after two weeks of play.
State No. 12 ranked Skyline College and Chabot College are 3-1, while No. 9 College of San Mateo and No. 13 City College of San Francisco are 2-1.
Skyline took a temporary league lead after winning Wednesday’s battle of unbeatens with CSM, 75-72. The game was deadlocked at 69 with just under three minutes to play when Lala Lautaimi (Aragon) blocked San Mateo’s potential go-ahead shot and, moments later, received a pass at the other end to score a lay-up and put Skyline ahead for good, 71-69. Lautaimi had 22 points and eight rebounds. Chiara Brown (American-Fremont) had a double-double for the Bulldogs, 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Skyline led throughout most of its Friday showdown at unranked Chabot before falling, 77-74. The Lady Trojans led 24-18 after one quarter and 39-3 at halftime. They were up, 58-52 after three quarters. But the Gladiators put on a 25-16 final period surge to take the win and knot the standings.
CSM lost a much-needed non-league contest on Saturday with visiting state No. 11 Santa Rosa JC, 73-63.
CSM battled the Lady Bearcubs to the end, led by Chiara Brown’s game high 24 points. It was 65-61 with 1:34 left before the Santa Rosa finally put it away.
More Showdowns This Week
The leaders clash again this week. San Mateo (13-4 overall) plays at Chabot (10-10) on Wednesday at 5 p.m., with a 7 p.m. men’s game to follow. The Lady Bulldogs host CCSF (13-5) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Skyline (16-4 overall) gets another opportunity against Chabot on Friday, hosting the Gladiators at 7 p.m., following a 5 p.m. men’s game.
CSM Men’s Basketball Ranked No. 17
The state No. 17-ranked College of San Mateo (15-5 overall) men remain solidly in the tough Coast North race with a 4-2 record, tied for third with Chabot (12-6) — and just a half game behind state No. 5 Las Positas (17-2, 4-1). State top-ranked City College of San Francisco (21-1) leads all at 8-0 at the season mid-point.
Last Week
After a 97-91 overtime loss to Chabot in a Monday make-up game, CSM posted strong local wins on Wednesday, 71-62, at Skyline, and on Friday, 101-66, over visiting Cañada.
Isaiah Cabrera (Newark Memorial) led the Bulldogs at Skyline with 15 points. Sam Manu (Aragon) added 13. Colby Vazquez (Mills) of Skyline was the game’s top scorer with 16. Against Cañada, JD Carson (Menlo-Atherton) led four Bulldogs in double figures with 17 points. Bobby Arenas (Riordan) added 16.
Baseball Season Underway
College of San Mateo baseball, ranked fifth in Northern California in the preseason coaches poll, opened the season with one-sided wins over Solano College, 14-2 on Thursday and 16-1 on Saturday. CSM hosts Solano again on Tuesday and then Diablo Valley on Thursday, both at 2 p.m.. The Bulldogs visit No. 13 Merced at 1 p.m. Saturday.
No. 15 Skyline College won its opener with visiting No. 6 Fresno City College, 3-1, on Friday but dropped a rematch at Fresno, 6-4, on Saturday. The Trojans host No. 12 Butte for three games this week, Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at 12 noon.
