Sparks flew last Tuesday night as Paly’s varsity girls’ basketball squad squared off for their first league game of the year, a loss against the Los Gatos Wildcats. In a game defined by injuries and controversial referee calls, emotions ran high, fostered by a crowd of agitated spectators.

The Wildcats started out looking snappy, sinking their first field goal 14 seconds into the game. Paly responded with equal vigor, tying the score 8-8 with about a minute left in the first quarter.

With 28 seconds remaining, a seemingly innocuous play concluded with devastating consequences. Paly junior point guard Brianna Clay dove brazenly in an attempt to intercept a Wildcat pass-in and collided with her player.

"Bre was getting a loose ball and went in front of the [Los Gatos] girl," junior forward Lola Wusu said. "And she [the Los Gatos player] pushed her [Clay], or she tripped, and twisted her knee."

Accounts vary regarding the exact circumstances surrounding the accident, but both girls were knocked to the floor by their impact as the ball rolled away across the court. The Los Gatos athlete was unhurt; Clay, however, was seriously injured and sat out the rest of the game barely able to walk.

At the other end of the court, the defending Vikings were engaged in what junior guard point Melody Gaal describes as "a dogpile or something," when junior point Ranecia Fields attempted sprinting to pick up the deflection and was allegedly compromised, taking a nasty fall on her stomach. Fortunately, she was unfazed and back on her feet by the time Paly head coach Amy Stock and the referee noticed Clay was not moving.

"Ranecia was trying to get the deflection and fell down from something, and then Bre didn’t get up," Gaal said. "And I was like, ‘oh crap’ because she never falls. She’s not a faller. And when she falls she always gets back up."

Clay went to a doctor later that night. An x-ray determined that her knee was filled with fluid or possibly had torn a muscle, and she was given a temporary knee brace. Clay planned to see another doctor that Thursday to get a second opinion.

Sophomore forward guard Katie Barich replaced Clay, and the Vikes kept on trucking; a three-point shot by Bryte Nielsen from Los Gatos ended the quarter 8-11 in Los Gatos’s favor.

“We’re a team, [and] when you lose a member, it’s harsh,” senior forward Dami Wusu said. “We did well right off the bat, right after she [Clay] got injured, but when we came back we just didn’t have that energy in it.”

Paly went into the second quarter with a passion, with junior forward guard Amber Jones quickly scoring a 3-point-play. Later, Barich rebounded Gaal’s attempt for the points and made two more buckets, giving the Lady Vikes a 6 point lead before Wildcat player Madeline Rose dropped her team’s second 3-pointer to narrow Paly’s lead to 17-14.

Dami Wusu made one of the most spectacular plays of the game a little more than halfway through the quarter when she went one-on-one with a breakaway Los Gatos girl, smashing down the ball in mid-air. Among whoops from the rest of the audience, her appreciative teammates on the bench stood to let out a deep, resounding “OOH!” and make a “W” with their hands in good-humored tribute.

Los Gatos responded late, scoring two goals to bring the score to 17-18, but Gaal retaliated with an assisted basket that ended the half 19-18 for Paly.

“We played them strong every quarter,” Barich said. “But [in] the third [quarter], maybe they came out with more fire than we had. They were really furious about the first half and us winning, but I think both teams were pretty evenly matched throughout the game.”

But the Wildcats fought back and eventually scored 17 points in the third quarter. A ball in Paly’s possession didn’t touch the hoop until less than two and a half minutes remained, when Fields lifted morale by scoring two points, 21-26. This small victory was soon answered by Los Gatos with two baskets and another 3-point-shot from Nielsen. Barich and Jones sunk the Vikes’ final shots of the quarter in some commendable plays, but Los Gatos took the last under-the-basket goal of the quarter, 25-35, with three seconds left.

“I think they’re a decent team,” Stock said. “In the third quarter, one of their players just wrapped them up, got 8 pts right in a row; and the third quarter made the difference really as far as the scoring. …They’re a good team.”

Los Gatos brought about 40 vocally gifted fans to watch the menagerie, an impressive turnout for a visiting team. Viking supporters nonetheless defended home-turf fan superiority and drew around 60 or 70 enthusiasts.

“Everyone was really, really excited," Gaal said. "Everyone was really loud. I couldn’t hear any of the plays; it was just chaotic.”

The Vikings were handicapped by questionably biased referees; in many instances Vikings were called for fouls while similar Los Gatos actions went unnoticed. Stock protested contentious calls throughout the game as officials embittered spectators as well as players.

The determined Lady Vikes shook the disappointing third off and stepped it up in the vital fourth quarter. Fields made a sweet basket nearly a minute in, then Gaal followed up with an alley-oop and Jones chipped in another goal to even the score, 31-37 with about six minutes left. Los Gatos made another shot, but Fields scored from high in the key and brought Paly to within six points of a tie.

Nielsen took her third and final 3-pointer of the night soon after, rousing a Wildcat roar of approval. The Vikings made some excellent defensive rebounds and steals, but the ball just wouldn’t go in the net. Dami Wusu was fouled and made the first of two free throws, and although Los Gatos grabbed the rebound, Fields snagged the ball out of a dribble and shot off the backboard. Gaal rebounded and put it in from under the net, 36-42.

Jones set the Viking cheering section ablaze with no less than 35.7 seconds remaining, culminating a flawless pick-and-pass play with a beautiful 3-point-shot from far left court. Paly supporters, already at the edge of their seats, held their breaths in anticipation, finally breaking into an energetic whoop.

The Lady Vikes kept up their momentum throughout the quarter, holding Los Gatos to 42 points for nearly five minutes until the last few seconds, when Paly, still holding onto a three point deficit, was driven to fouling in earnest. But even though Los Gatos made four free-throw points, the Vikes outscored the Wildcats in the fourth quarter 14-13 and matched their 3-point players.

“Basically they had a couple good girls, Anderson and Nielsen,” Gaal said. “One of them could shoot the 3. We were in a zone [defense] and 21 [Nielsen] just kept shooting the 3s over and over and over again… We weren’t getting out to her enough, so that’s 9 pts right there. I mean, we only lost by about 3. And we had a good run in the end. We had a nice play with a screen and then a 3 [-pointer] with Amber.”

For a last-ditch effort, Paly utilized a full-court press to push turnovers and, failing that, deliberately fouled offensive players in the backcourt. This technique is used to stop the clock and give the trailing team more time for shot opportunities from turnovers and defensive rebounds. In a best-case scenario, the fouled player misses her free throws and the team on defense can rebound and break for their basket. Should the free throws be good, the losing team gains possesion and another shot at evening the score.

Unfortunately for Paly, Los Gatos netted their first free throws in the final seconds of the game. Bailey Richardson scored four out of five free throws for the Wildcats after taking three fouls, which brought Palo Alto’s deficit from three points to seven. Paly did not score beyond Jones’s 3-pointer, and a stolen ball turned into a Wildcat lay-up with eight seconds remaining, bringing the tension-wrought game to a close. Los Gatos walked away with a slimmer win than the final 39-48 score might imply.

“Truth is, those last four free throws that they made were the first ones they [Los Gatos] made all night,” parent Karan Barich said. “The other team was 0 for 14 to that point for free throws, and then when they made those last two [free throws] when we had to foul, that kind of clinched it up.”

In the end, the Lady Vikes were disappointed but kept a positive outlook.

“I think we had a good battle,” Stock said. “We were down by 6 or 8 points and never gave up. We had some good looks in the end and some good shots, so you’ve got to give our team credit for that, but we just couldn’t pull it out tonight. We didn’t have the ammunition to get that win.”

Recently graduated Viking basketball legend Sara Schulte attended the game along with her friend and fellow varsity basketball alum Savannah Hayes, both from Paly’s class of 2004.

“I’d have to say that with Bre going down in the beginning, that’s a tough obstacle to overcome,” Schulte said. “We almost came back, we had a few spurts, but I think next time we’ll be much better prepared [and] we’ll keep our heads up.”

Others agree that losing Clay, especially as early as they did, was particularly detrimental for the team.

“With Bre going down in the first quarter, [we were at a disadvantage because] she’s averaging 15 points a game right there. Get that 15 points and it’s a different ball game,” Stock continued. “She [Clay] makes everybody a better player; she runs the team, runs the court. It’s a big difference when she’s on and off the court.“

It is unclear when Clay will be back on the court, with estimates ranging from possibly returning next week to a few weeks necessary for full recovery. The team will be hindered but far from crippled by the absence of one of its key players, and remains confident about the future.

“They were a good team,” Fields said. “We stuck in there, we didn’t give up in the end, [and] we tried hard. Things like that happen, but we’re still in the running for league championship. Losing a player is hard, but you’ve got to be able to recover and play as a team, and we did that. But wins don’t always happen.”

The Lady Vikes still reign supreme in leagues, claiming a victory in their match against Lynbrook’s Vikings last Friday, in double overtime to win 57-55 for a 1-1 league record. Their upcoming home game against Eastside Prep is scheduled for Wed., Jan. 12 at 7 pm in the big gym.

Paly’s first Quad Night of the season against Gunn will be held in the big gym this Friday at 6 p.m., featuring girls’ JV at 3 p.m., boys’ frosh-soph at 4:30 p.m., girls’ varsity at 6 p.m. and boys’ varsity at 7:30 p.m.