Jenna Webb’s dramatic 3-point play lifts Los Gatos over Los Altos

LOS GATOS — Los Altos, after trailing by 10 points, took a two-point lead with 15 seconds left in the game. Los Gatos had two timeouts, but coach Sara Quilici-Giles decided to let her team play it out.

Jenna Webb took the inbounds pass and managed to find an opening in a Los Altos defense that hadn’t had a chance to set up, and found a path up the middle of the court all the way to the basket for a driving layup.

And she was fouled.

Webb stepped to the line with five seconds on the clock and made the free throw for the deciding point, giving Los Gatos a 43-42 victory on Wednesday night in a key Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division showdown.

“I was just trying to win it for my seniors,” said Webb, a sophomore point guard. “I think we did a really good job of staying in it and not getting mentally unfocused the whole game.”

Los Gatos (17-5, 9-1) now is in position to win its fourth consecutive De Anza Division title after the win over Los Altos (19-4, 9-2), its closest challenger.

Webb made three 3-pointers, two in the first half and a big one down the stretch to help rebuff the Los Altos comeback.

“My coaches and everyone on the team is so supportive that every shot’s going in,” Webb said. “The more you say it the more you believe it “

The Wildcats were up 26-16 in the third quarter when Los Altos, making a big effort to come up with loose balls and offensive rebounds and to force turnovers (Los Gatos won despite committing 19), went on a 16-2 run to take a four-point lead.

Ella McFarlane, who went into the game averaging 17.6 on the season, sparked the run, pouring in 13 consecutive Los Altos points at one point.

“She’s our most experienced player, a three-year varsity player who reached 1,000 points for her career this year,” Los Altos coach Brittany Taylor said. “We can always trust her to come through and make a big play for us.”

But Los Gatos responded thanks to Webb, who scored 12 of her team’s 15 fourth-quarter points to finish with a game-high 18. She made two free throws and scored on the break to tie.it. Then she followed a 3-pointer by McFarlane with a 3 of her own.

A free throw by Kendall Feichtmeir and a post-up basket by Sophie Riese put Los Gatos up 40-37. Carissa Lai’s 3 tied it up again and freshman point guard Taylor Ware scored on a mid-range jumper with 15 seconds to go to give the Eagles a two-point advantage.

McFarlane led Los Altos with 14 points. Chloe D’Amico scored 10. Riese had 11 to go along with Webb’s 18 for Los Gatos. Hanna Behnami pulled down nine rebounds

So Los Gatos, which swept the two-game series with Los Altos, is still the top team in the SCVAL. But Los Altos, starting two freshmen, has closed the gap.

“I feel our future is very bright,” Taylor said. “We have really good talent on our JV roster as well. I think we’ll continue to make noise and definitely be a contender.”