It was a night to remember for the Eagles and guard Ella McFarlane, with the senior hitting the game-winner against Mountain View Friday and scoring her 1,000th point in the first half.
Tied 31-31 with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter, McFarlane drove to the basket and hit a midrange shot for the eventual game winner with 12 seconds left, finishing the game with a team-leading 23 points. McFarlane was not open for a three-point shot, forcing her to drive inside to make a contested shot.
“I drove, and it was open, and I was like, ‘I have to make this,’” McFarlane said.
McFarlane made the shot and scored the last six points for Los Altos, all in the fourth quarter, finishing 9-19 from the field. The rivalry game featured both teams playing aggressive defense and up-tempo styles, leading to turnovers and fast-break opportunities throughout, with eight lead changes starting in the second quarter.
Los Altos coach Brittany Taylor described the game as competitive chaos, noting it had many ups and downs and came down to the wire, much like previous games in the season. She praised the team for making defensive adjustments and getting transition buckets.
“It’s a competitive game, big rival day,” Taylor said. “Mountain View brought a very tough, physical game against us, which is great.”
Mountain View kept the game close thanks to timely shots and a swarming defense, trailing 20-10 at halftime and having a 28-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. The teams traded buckets in the fourth before McFarlane made the game-winning shot. Taylor noted that the visiting Eagles have played a lot of close games this season and have built experience to weather tense moments.
“Our team continues to surprise me in our resilience and just being able to win tough games,” Taylor said.
McFarlane has been on the varsity team since her freshman year and needed 12 points to reach 1,000 Friday night, and she made it her goal to reach it after seeing other players reach the milestone in previous years.
“My freshman and sophomore stats were good but not amazing, so I had to lock in for junior and senior year to reach this benchmark, so I’m really glad,” McFarlane said.
Los Altos is now 10-2 and 2-0 in SCVAL De Anza Division league play, hosting Fremont today at 7 p.m.
“Overall, we’ve processed each week, kept our competitiveness, the girls are getting better,” Taylor said of the season. “Each night, it’s a different player who steps up outside of Ella, so it’s nice to see that we have a lot of versatility on our roster.”
Los Altos guard Taylor Ware finished with six points for the Eagles, while Mountain View guard Fiona Lee led the Spartans with 15 points. Emilia Cornfors-Gurovski had nine points for the Spartans. Mountain View plays at Monta Vista today at 7 p.m.
