The San Benito High girls’ basketball team has taken its lumps early in the 2013-14 season — a 95-26 loss to state Division V powerhouse Pinewood-Los Altos Hills on Dec. 6 might be the most glaring example — but playing tough competition will only help a squad looking to recapture the magic from a year ago, when it made a surprising run to the Central Coast Section Division I championship game.
“Everything broke perfectly for us, but we still had to win three games in a row to get there,” third-year Haybalers coach Mitch Burley said. “I know we’ll be competitive again this year, and hopefully we’ll find some of that magic again.”
The Balers are no strangers to CCS title success, having repeated as section D-I champions in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. San Benito (1-3) has seven returning players who saw significant minutes last year, including junior point guard Anjelica Collins, who controls the tempo of a game perhaps better than any other player in the Monterey Bay League.
“Anjelica is also a tremendous athlete,” Burley said. “I don’t have to worry about turnovers because she’s a really good passer and has great court vision.“
Collins will be flanked by off guard Desirae Canela, who is one of the team’s top 3-point shooters, and another tenacious off guard in Katherine Angeles, who is a tough perimeter defender.
“Katherine is small, but really quick and active,” Burley said. “She can full-court pressure and really bother the opposing ball-handlers.”
San Benito also has a bevy of solid forwards, including Cassandra Barraza, who missed most of last year after suffering an ACL injury in the team’s sixth game of the season. Burley envisions Barraza as a point forward, a player who can score, rebound and set up her teammates for scoring chances.
The team’s other projected starting frontcourt players include small forward Jacqueline Lerma and center Jalyn Brooks. Both players are strong rebounders and defenders, especially Lerma, who tends to get under the skin of her opponents.
“Jacqueline does all of the dirty work, and she almost gets into fights during games because she gets other players frustrated,” Burley said. “Every team needs a feisty player who is hard-nosed and just going all out all the time.”
The Balers will also be buoyed by newcomer Callee Heen, a strong and athletic 5-foot-7 forward. Burley said this year’s team is smaller but a little quicker than last year’s group, so team rebounding will be paramount if the Balers plan on contending for a league championship.
“I don’t know if we can win league, but we’ll be in the conversation for the top two or three teams,” Burley said.
Burley is hoping that one of last year’s returners, wing Denise Martinez, can return at some point this season. Martinez suffered a knee injury in the school’s powder puff football game, Burley said, and her presence will be sorely missed.
“Denise might be our most dynamic player,” Burley said. “She’s really strong, athletic and it’s going to be a huge loss if she can’t play this season. I don’t know how long she’ll be out, but hopefully she can make a healthy recovery. When she was around to play for us last year, she was our leading scorer. It would be huge to have her back in the mix.”
