Sports

The Warriors will be the heavy favorites to win their third straight NBA championship — and fourth in the last five seasons — but that doesn’t mean they won’t be challenged. The Western Conference is better than it has been, and the top of the Eastern Conference is damn good, too.

Aptos High sophomore outside hitter Ella Dueck had 19 kills, four aces, 20 digs and three blocks in a five-set (25-23, 16-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-9) win over Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League girls volleyball action Oct. 22.  Junior right side Kenzie Smith...

M.V.C. dropped its league opener, 9-5, against Monterey High on Tuesday, but the Mustangs figure to be in the mix in the always tough MBL-Gabilan division. The area’s three other local squads, Watsonville High, Pajaro Valley High and North Monterey County High, all compete in the MBL-Pacific division and have all looked improved from a year ago.

Santa Cruz junior forward Robert Bishop hit the game-winning shot with 26.7 seconds left and Felix made a big defensive stop on the following possession to knock off the defending league champion St. Francis High Sharks, 52-49, on Friday night.

Aptos High hosted the “San Francisco 49ers High School Takeover” with a football doubleheader Sept. 27. With San Francisco 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam roaming the field and a social media team in place to film the action, two great games took place. The first one...