What does the women’s basketball team have in common with an industrial bakery? They both produce dozens of turnovers.
In fact, De Anza turned the ball over 29 times – two baker’s dozen and change – in their 64-48 loss to San Mateo.
The turnovers fueled the San Mateo offense. Four players scored in double figures, led by Pachara Armstrong’s 21 points. "They played hard," said head coach Arden Kragalott, "but with so many turnovers, playing hard is not enough and it caused us to lose."
It was a flat offensive effort (36 percent shooting) without center Dacia Taleni, the team’s leading scorer. Taleni could be out for the rest of the season with a leg injury. If there were anyone who could take exception to her coach’s comments, it would be Gladia Castro.
The De Anza shooting guard tried to pick up the slack and did everything she could to get her team into the game. Castro scored a game-high 23 points on 8 for 15 shooting, including 3 for 8 from three-point range and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. She also led the team with eight rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. The rest of her teammates scored 25 points on 29 percent shooting.This article appears in the Jan. 30, 2006 print edition of La Voz.