Sports

St. Francis exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter to rally past host Pacific Grove for a 54-44 win in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission division action on Wednesday night.

On its way back home following a three-game trip to Hawaii, Watsonville (9-1-3, 2-0-1) had its flight rerouted back to the island state after the plane’s cabin smelled of smoke an hour and 15 minutes into the journey.

Aptos, ranked 25th in the state by Maxpreps.com, almost saw its undefeated start to the season come to an end in a 1-1 draw against Santa Cruz, ranked 135th.

High School Athletes of the Week for the week of Jan. 14-20.

Before last week, I was never curious as to why Watsonville used a z instead of an s at the end of its mascots' name. Like I said, I accepted it. It’s not a spelling mistake, which was my first thought when I went to my first high school basketball game, it’s the unspoken rule — like not putting ketchup on a hotdog. No Watsonville alumnus asks why, they just accept it.

Whether it’s playing tough defense, coming up with loose balls, clogging passing lanes or chasing down long offensive boards, the 5-foot-3 “glue gal” has quietly helped Aptos to a top-10 ranking in the Central Coast Section and a 14-4 start to the season.

Taylor and a fellow lifeguard resuscitated a child that had been accidentally buried by a collapsing sand tunnel by performing CPR.

After Wednesday night’s 74-56 drubbing of the Gavilan College Rams (4-10, 1-3) in the Adobe Palace, and the 43-point beat down in Salinas over Hartnell College on Jan. 11, the Seahawks (11-3, 4-0) look like they are starting to find their groove just in time for the heart of conference play.

Shayna Lebovitz’s header off of Sophia Bessa’s free kick in the final minute of the match clanked off the crossbar and out, preserving a frustrating 1-1 tie for both teams.