LOS ALTOS HILLS –– In what was supposed to be a highly competitive contest between the two top teams in the West Bay Athletic League, Pinewood dominated over Menlo at home in a 75-36 blowout on Friday night, just in time to celebrate head coach Doc Scheppler’s birthday and induct former player Miranda Seto into Pinewood’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
“It was sentimental for me tonight,” Scheppler said. “Not because of my birthday, but I get very emotional when I talk about my former players and how much I love them. And I’ll take [a win on my birthday.]”
Entering the final quarter with twice as many points as the Knights, Pinewood only continued to further its then 60-30 lead with its notoriously fast-paced offense. Freshman center Valentina Saric led the Panthers in scoring, as Stanford and Yale committed seniors Hannah Jump and Klara Astrom retired to the bench. Saric was a force to be reckoned with in the paint as she finessed skillful post moves over the Knights’ defense. Despite continuing to run strong, sophisticated plays, Pinewood’s defense loosened as the game furthered, allowing the Knights to pick up enough fouls to contribute their six points that quarter. As the final buzzer sounded, both teams finished in the bonus, with a 75-36 win for Pinewood.
The game started off surprisingly slow for the Panthers, who are known for their quick passes coupled with uncontested three-pointers, as they struggled to rack up points, falling behind early as the Knights led 13-7 towards the end of the first quarter. The Knights’ lead was quickly answered by Jump, who contributed three baskets from behind the arc, eventually giving Pinewood the push it needed to nudge ahead of Menlo, finishing the quarter with a narrow 16-14 lead.
The second quarter brought out a visible change in pace for Pinewood, as their offense came together with a flood of threes from Jump.
“Any time [Jump] gets clean looks and gets into her rhythm, it means trouble for the other team,” Scheppler said. “As a shooter, the more reps you get, the more feel you get, and the more shots you get, and that’s how you build confidence.”
Though the Knights were certainly conditioned well enough to match Pinewood’s intensity, they could not respond to the Panthers’ rapid return from defense to offense, eventually falling behind as Jump and Astrom led the team in scoring, contributing 11 and five points that quarter, respectively.
“I’m so focused on being great every possession, whether it be offensive or defensively,” Scheppler said. “It’s not about what the score is; it’s about doing the right thing on offense and minimizing the amount of shots the other team gets as well.”
Sophomore Avery Lee was a key scorer for the Knights, finding several opportunities to penetrate Pinewood’s tight man-to-man defense as she manuevered her way to the basket, finishing with a team high of 13 points, including a single three-pointer. Sophomore Coco Layton was Menlo’s main outside shooter, finishing with 11 points with one three-pointer as well. Despite the Knights’ intensity, they could not keep up with Pinewood’s superior shooting, nor could they effectively break through the Panthers’ tightly run defense, ultimately falling behind as the Panthers entered halftime with a 38-24 lead.
“I liked how scrappy [the Knights] are,” Scheppler said. “A lot of times when teams play us, they play too fast, scattered and nervous. [Menlo] played hard, to play every possession, and they made us beat them.”
Following Seto’s induction ceremony at half time, the Panthers returned to the court with even stronger intensity as Jump racked up 13 points, ultimately finishing with a game high of 37. What distinguished Pinewood’s offense from Menlo’s was the lack of selfishness in each maneuver; the Panthers whipped the ball around the court rapidly enough to create an opportunity to score in response to whatever defense Menlo ran, while the Knights struggled to sink contested outside shots.
“We will give up a good shot for a great shot,” Jump said. “I might have a contested shot, but if I can pass it out for an open shot, that’s what I want. That’s why we shoot so well.”
Astrom played her best quarter with a pair of three-pointers, ultimately contributing 13 points, while senior Kaitlyn Leung also sank one of her three triples of the night, finishing with nine.
“It’s beautiful to watch when everyone does the right thing at the right time,” Scheppler said. “There’s synergy on the floor. That’s what playing on a team means.”
Pinewood has a long week on the road ahead of them, including a meeting with both Eastside Prep and Sacred Heart Prep in effort to maintain their top WBAL standing before traveling to Salesian on Saturday.
“League games are a chance for us to improve every day,” Jump said. “It’s a goal for us to win [against Salesian]. Every day in practice this week, we’ll be working hard to make sure we can execute [on Saturday].”
Menlo will challenge another set of Panthers at Woodside Priory on Tuesday night.
