Woodside four-year varsity star Natalya Hotovec finishes career with a flourish

No. 7-seed Woodside (6-4) rode its high-pressure defense and rapid-fire offense to a 74-41 victory over No. 10 Leigh-San Jose in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division II girls’ basketball tournament. In what was likely her final varsity performance, Hotovec erupted for a game-high 30 points, including 14 in a dazzling fourth quarter.

“We just wanted to finish strong,” Hotovec said. “We didn’t know if we were going to end up winning or losing. We’re missing a lot of our varsity team, so we brought up half the junior-varsity team. That was just the hustle. JV was out there getting their minutes, we just wanted them to finish strong. I know it’s a lot of the senior class’ last home game.”

While the Wildcats advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinal round to face No. 2 St. Francis-Mountain View, Hotovec will not be there. Having already graduated, Hotovec departed Sunday morning on her graduation trip to Hawaii. The vacation was booked months prior to the girls’ basketball season — ordinarily played in the winter — being given the go-ahead.

Woodside head coach Jason Llaterno said he fully supports Hotovec and the rest of his seniors leaving to take their graduation trips. It wasn’t until last week when the CCS brackets were announced that he was even sure Hotovec would get a chance to play in Saturday’s opener.

“When we heard the schedule worked out for the Saturday game, it was great,” Llantero said. “And for her to have a chance to finish off with a game on her home floor, whatever the result was, that’s just awesome for her.”

It was awesome for everyone who witnessed it as well.

The Wildcats attempted a remarkable 68 shots in the game, converting at a shaky 36.8%. But the final quarter of Hotovec’s career saw Woodside sink 9 of 17 shots, including 6 of 7 from 3-point territory. Hotovec converted two of those 3s.

The playmaking point guard netted each of her first four shots in the final period, including two transition finishes off takeaways — Leigh committed 33 turnovers throughout — and midway through the quarter when Hotovec finally missed a short jumper that rimmed out, she had the modestly-sized Woodside crowd oohing and aahing with the flight of the ball.

“It was fun,” Hotovec said. “Great to go out that way.”

Leigh (2-10) kept pace with Woodside through the game’s opening minutes. Freshman guard Gabrielle Gerrodette set the tone for the Wildcats, scoring an and-1 with a darting layup off the opening tipoff. She then shot the first of a barrage of Woodside 3-pointers, converting to give her team a 6-1 lead.

Leigh caught up at 9-9 with a fast start from senior guard Ally Suzuki, who scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the first quarter. But the Wildcats persistently fired up 3-point attempts. Following Gerrodette’s layup on the opening play, Woodside’s next nine shots were from beyond the arc. The Wildcats only took an 11-9 lead — not a 12-9 lead — because senior guard Emma Kinder’s toe was on the 3-point line when she swished a jump shot from the corner.

And the Wildcats’ high-pressure, full-court press was nonstop. They ran it on Leigh’s first inbound and maintained it until the last inbound in the closing seconds even with the game well in hand.

“That’s our go-to,” Hotovec said. “We’re not super big, so we’re like small-ball. We like to play fast. So, we really thought that was the way to get a leg up on teams was our speed and our pressure to hopefully force the turnovers. That’s what’s been successful so far.”

Kinder’s long 2 set off a 7-0 Woodside run. Senior forward Amanda Chow — who went for a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds — helped give the Wildcats plenty of second chances by crashing the offensive boards. Woodside had seven offensive rebounds in the opening quarter.

Leigh outrebounded the Wildcats overall 42-39.

Kinder totaled eight points, while Gerrodette finished with seven. And junior Naomi Komandina and freshman Claire Sonnenburg came off the bench to net six apiece.

Sonnenburg, playing in her first varsity game, hit back-to-back 3s in the fourth quarter. They were the first two shot attempts she’s taken at the varsity level after playing the shortened regular season with the junior-varsity team.

“I just saw that I had space and let it fly,” Sonnenburg said.

Woodside was playing with a good number of JV callups to fill out its roster. And while it was just a necessary move considering the number of unavailable seniors, the unique opportunity could have lasting effects on the next generation of Wildcats.

“It was really great,” Sonnenburg said. “And just playing with the seniors before they leave was really amazing.”

Hotovec will be attending Cal Poly in the fall with a focus on academics. She said she is considering trying out as a walk-on freshman for the women’s basketball team. Regardless, she finishes her high school career as one of Woodside’s all-time greats.

“I’m willing to bet if were to have a regular extrapolated season with the PAL South, she would be a contender if not the MVP of the league,” Llantero said. “She was averaging … possibly 22-plus (points per game) coming in. And that’s just eight games. Imagine if she had an extra 14 to get loose and ready for league.”

And her presence for the future Wildcats was evident in the way Sonnenburg lit up at the question of what it meant to take the floor with her.

“She was amazing,” Sonnenburg said, “and it was such an honor to play with her.”