Presentation blowout only makes girls’ basketball team
stronger
With expectations understandably high after winning the Central
Coast Section Division I playoffs last year, the San Benito girls’
basketball team has taken it upon itself to improve upon a
record-setting season.
In other words, the Lady Balers wouldn’t mind raising the
expectations a little further this year.
Presentation blowout only makes girls’ basketball team stronger
With expectations understandably high after winning the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs last year, the San Benito girls’ basketball team has taken it upon itself to improve upon a record-setting season.
In other words, the Lady Balers wouldn’t mind raising the expectations a little further this year.
Despite a league title, a section championship and a trip to Nor-Cals, complacency remains a foreign word to San Benito, as there is always a desire to turn some heads locally, raise a few eyebrows within the CCS and essentially put Hollister on the Northern California basketball map for a second straight year.
“We now have to raise the bar and go against the teams they don’t expect us to beat,” said senior guard and leading scorer Vanessa Farias, who is averaging 15.5 points through 10 games this season.
And those teams have included such formidable preseason opponents like Presentation (72-31 L), Skyline (69-34 W), Oakland Tech (54-44 L) and Miramonte (47-42 L), a fearsome foursome in terms of the preseason, but a strong slate of games that seem to already be paying dividends for San Benito.
“Presentation we didn’t do good, and then Skyline we played our game,” Farias said. “And then Oakland Tech came, and we started to play our game, but we gave up on it.
“It was a lesson in the sense that, if we don’t play our game the way we play, then we’re gonna get blown out like we did against Presentation. But if we play our game, then we’re gonna win like we did against Skyline.”
San Benito’s 41-point loss to Presentation may just have been the early-season eye-opener the Lady Balers needed, however. While their two losses to Oakland Tech and Miramonte were by a combined 15 points, not a single team has come close to upsetting the Lady Balers otherwise.
In fact, with a 7-3 record at press time, only Seaside – in the first game of the season – has come within 25 points of beating the Balers.
Head coach David Kaplansky has yet to spot what would be considered a negative affect to his team’s difficult preseason lineup.
“This is exactly what I wanted,” Kaplansky said. “I think the Presentation game really made us grow. Even though we took a tough loss, we were able to expose the things we needed to work on as a team and clean up those things before we get into league.”
The Lady Balers, after winning the Tri-County Athletic League last season with an 11-1 mark, will open the TCAL on Jan. 7 at Everett Alvarez (5-5) in Salinas.
Despite San Benito’s control of the crown, however, North Salinas (7-3) may be considered the preseason favorite after they returned the bulk of the roster from last season’s 9-3 squad, including point guard Edthel Lugo (12.0 ppg) and center Bina Abbott (11.1 ppg).
“And they’re playing well right now,” Kaplansky said.
The Gilroy Mustangs are youthful but are expected to be much improved, and are anchored by sophomore center Chelsea Hill, who was averaging 15 points and 13 rebounds earlier this season.
“She’s outstanding,” Kaplansky said. “I think Gilroy is gonna surprise a lot of teams this year.”
Salinas’ current 9-3 overall mark makes them a team not to be overlooked, while Notre Dame’s 2-8 record could be an aberration due to many close losses already this season.
The Lady Balers lost starting point guard Elena Fata and starting forward Bri Romero, among others, but return Farias as well as defensive specialists Kelsey Russell and Vanessa Casalegno.
All three bigs return to the team as well, including Lauren Ademek, Victoria Aguilera and Megan Halstead, who’s developed into San Benito’s second leading point scorer at 10.6 points per game.
Newcomer Erin Glasspool has stepped into the starting point guard spot rather nicely for San Benito, exhibiting a deadly 3-point shot. She’s already third on the team in scoring with five points per game, and already displays the type of ball handling skills to break even the toughest full-court defenses.
“It’s a lot faster paced,” said the sophomore Glasspool, who played junior varsity last season. “I’m still trying to get used to it more, like how good the other teams are.”
Kaplansky feels his team is better off right now than they were last year, as far as executing and team defense goes, and the tough preseason schedule is perhaps the reason for it, not to mention the reason why San Benito is ready for anything and everything the TCAL dishes out.
“We constantly have to keep playing our game,” Farias said. “Every team we play, we have to play them hard and play them our way. As long as we play our game, we’ll be successful.”
