The outside shot of Erin Glasspool, the mid-range game of Nicole
Rianda and the inside presence of Victoria Aguilera translated into
a convincing 63-37 victory for the San Benito Lady Balers over
Alisal on Thursday night in Tri-County Athletic League play.
SALINAS
The outside shot of Erin Glasspool, the mid-range game of Nicole Rianda and the inside presence of Victoria Aguilera translated into a convincing 63-37 victory for the San Benito Lady Balers over Alisal on Thursday night in Tri-County Athletic League play.
The three players combined for 40 points, with both Rianda and Aguilera depositing 14 points each, and Glasspool chiming in with 12 points off of four 3-pointers.
San Benito improves to 4-1 in the TCAL and 15-2 overall.
“Just balanced scoring,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “It seemed like all the looks we were getting we were finishing, and it was contagious.
“It really was just our offense — a real dynamic look by having three kids who were able to knock down shots.”
Eleven different players contributed points for San Benito, which carried an 18-7 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Balers received contributions from Madeleine LePore, who had five points, as well as Cyrena Salinas and varsity newcomer Ellie Burley, each of whom pocketed four points.
The win snapped a three-game winning streak for the Trojans, who tried to slow the Lady Balers early on with a man defense, then opted for the zone in the second quarter.
But Glasspool hit two 3-pointers in the second stanza, and helped push San Benito out to a 30-18 lead at halftime.
“They went to the zone and the 3-pointers opened it up,” Kaplansky said.
“I just really liked the way we played tonight. That was the best and most complete game we’ve played in a while.”
The Lady Balers further distanced themselves in the third quarter when they outscored the Trojans by a 20-6 margin.
Alisal, which falls to 3-2 in the TCAL and 8-9 overall, was led by Gaby Pantoja, who scored a game-high 19 points.
“She’s good,” Kaplansky said simply.
San Benito will return to TCAL play on Tuesday when it will host Salinas at 7 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SANB 18 12 20 13 63
ALIS 7 11 6 13 37
San Benito (63):M. LePore 2 0 1-1 5, C. Salinas 2 0 0-1 4, M. Vallejo 1 0 0-0 2, E. Glasspool 0 4 0-0 12, M. Cortez 1 0 0-0 2, C. Pate 1 0 0-1 2, G. Magee 1 0 0-0 2, V. Casalegno 1 0 0-2 2, N. Rianda 6 0 2-3 14, V. Aguilera 5 0 4-5 14, E. Burley 2 0 0-0 4.
JV Note:
After silencing host Alisal in the first quarter, the San Benito Lady Balers marched to an easy 55-18 victory Thursday night in Salinas, where Taylor Fabing led the girls junior varsity team with 10 points.
Victoria Bustamante added nine points and Nickole Gutierrez had eight for San Benito, which is now 3-2 in the Tri-County Athletic League and 11-3 overall.
“It was a good opportunity to come back from our loss at Notre Dame and pull together as a team,” said San Benito head coach Karen Fortino, referring to Tuesday’s 49-32 loss to the Spirits. “We came back and played very strong and played better than we did last time.”
The Lady Balers shut out the Trojans in the first quarter by a 10-0 margin, eventually grabbing a 26-4 lead heading into halftime.
“It’s a huge attribute to my girls — just their character as they came back from a game like that,” Fortino said.
San Benito will return to the court on Tuesday when it will host Salinas at 5:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SANB 10 16 14 15 55
ALIS 0 4 7 7 18
