San Benito, which trailed by as many as 16 points Tuesday, cut
Deer Valley’s lead to just four in the final minutes but couldn’t
complete the comeback and lost 42-33 in the CIF Northern California
State Basketball Championships.
HOLLISTER
It’s a simple one-word description San Benito High head coach David Kaplansky has been using all season long, a term that could practically define the Lady ‘Balers basketball team over the last two seasons.
Resilient.
And after trailing by five in the Division I championship last Saturday to Evergreen Valley, after trailing by 16 in the first round of the CIF Northern California State Basketball Championships on Tuesday night to Deer Valley, only to see the Lady ‘Balers come roaring back in both instances, Kaplansky’s description is simple but deserved.
“These girls, just, they don’t quit. They don’t quit,” Kaplansky said. “No matter how good of an opponent. No matter if you’re the 13th best team in Northern California, or if its the CCS championship, these girls don’t quit.
“They’re so resilient.”
Trailing by as many as 16 points Tuesday night at Mattson Gym in Hollister, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers supplied visiting Deer Valley with a steady dose of Vanessa Farias to come all the way back, eventually trailing by just four points with 2:35 remaining in regulation.
But a late non-call by referees and the inside presence of Deer Valley’s Deserie Azlin and Emily Allard kept San Benito at bay in the waning minutes Tuesday, as the Wolverines advanced to the regional semifinals with a 42-33 victory over Hollister.
“Honestly, we could compete with them. I don’t know what happened,” said Farias, who led the Lady ‘Balers with a game-high 19 points behind four 3-pointers. “We should have won. I thought we could have won.
“I give them the respect. They finished down low.”
Deer Valley (23-7), located in Antioch, will visit Sacramento’s Kennedy High (26-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“They said that they play really hard on defense and we knew they were gonna get out and pressure us,” Deer Valley head coach Lindsay Wisely said after the game. “But we tried to focus on our game, which is rebounding, pound it inside with our post players, and just playing gritty defense.
“I think we did it with our defense and rebounding tonight.”
The Wolverines were blessed with the post play of Allard and power forward Azlin, each of whom were as tall as a center should be, but displayed the maneuverability of a point guard. Combined, the two scored 30 points to lead Deer Valley Tuesday night.
“They worked us, but I think we put up a fight toward the end,” San Benito post player Lauren Adamek said afterward. “The first half was kind of shaky, but as soon as the second half came around, I think we gave them a fight.
“Everyone had a fight in them tonight.”
The Lady ‘Balers brought their usual pressure defense in the first half and forced 12 Deer Valley turnovers as a result. However, San Benito couldn’t capitalize on the added opportunities and had difficulty getting their shots to fall, recording just four field goals in the first half.
The Wolverines claimed an 11-5 first-quarter lead behind eight points from Allard, and San Benito managed to keep the deficit at six early in the second quarter after Megan Halstead pounded in two points in the paint and Farias followed with the first of her four 3-pointers.
But after going scoreless for two minutes, 27 seconds, Deer Valley closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 24-10 lead at the break.
“We knew the ball was going inside,” Kaplansky said. “We knew they were an offensive rebounding team. That’s what they do.”
A pair of free throws by Azlin to open the second half pushed the lead to 16 – the largest of the game – at which point San Benito began to find some momentum. On back-to-back possessions in which the Lady ‘Balers exhausted the shot clock each time, both Halstead and Adamek converted inside baskets as the buzzer sounded, while Farias followed with another trey to bring San Benito to within nine and the largest student section of the year to its feet.
“I thought we were settling for a half-court game,” Kaplansky said. “And that’s obviously what they’re very good at with their bigs and their post entries. I wanted to encourage them on their outlets to run rather than slow the game down. I felt that’s when we kind of found our groove.”
San Benito couldn’t get any closer before the end of the third quarter, as Deer Valley’s post presence had a knack for drawing the foul. On the night, San Benito was 3 of 8 at the line, while Deer Valley was 18 of 27.
But trailing 33-24 heading to the fourth, the Lady ‘Balers opened on a 6-2 run behind baskets from Farias, Halstead and Kelsey Russell to cut the lead to five with 5:40 left. After a pair of Wolverine free throws pushed it back to seven, Farias then nailed another long-distance 3 to bring San Benito to within four with 2:35 remaining in the game.
Azlin responded with a big basket in the paint to hold Deer Valley’s lead at six, but on the following possession, Farias stepped back behind the arc and drew the foul while attempting a 3-pointer. However, in a call that was greeted with a flurry of boos from the Hollister crowd, officials ruled that Farias was not in the act of shooting.
Three made free throws would have brought the Lady ‘Balers to within three points with 1:48 remaining. Instead, the senior guard went to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity, but missed the front end.
After both teams exchanged turnovers, the Wolverines maintained their lead in the closing seconds at the charity stripe, and held on for the nine-point victory.
“The fact that we were down by 16 and came all the way back with an opportunity in a two possession game,” Kaplansky said, “I felt like the fact that we had an opportunity was just real exciting.”
Ending their second straight season in the Nor Cal playoffs can certainly lead to excitement. The Lady ‘Balers finish the year as champions of both the Tri-County Athletic League and Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, compiling a 24-5 record in the process.
Perhaps more impressive, San Benito has rifled 48 wins since they went 8-15 two years ago.
Resilient.
Said Kaplansky, “It makes me very proud to be their coach.”
Notes:
San Benito shot 28 percent (13 of 46) from the field … Deer Valley shot 38 percent (12 of 32) from the field … The Lady ‘Balers committed 15 turnovers … The Wolverines committed 20 turnovers … San Benito is now 1-2 all-time in the CIF Northern California State Basketball Championships.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
DV 11 13 9 9 42
SB 5 5 14 9 33
Deer Valley (42): R. Fox 1-3 1-2 3, K. Alexander 1-1 0-0 2, K. White 1-1 3-6 5, E. Allard 3-7 8-8 14, D. Azlin 5-9 6-8 16, C. Mixon 1-4 0-0 2.
Three-point goals: None.
San Benito (33): K. Russell 1-1 0-2 2, L. Adamek 2-6 1-1 5, M. Halstead 3-8 0-0 6, V. Casalegno 0-0 1-2 1, V. Farias 7-16 1-3 19.
Three-point goals: V. Farias 4.
