Girls basketball team beats C.K. McClatchy at home in first-ever
NorCal playoff game
Hollister
From here on in, each game for the San Benito Lady ‘Balers is the biggest basketball game in school history.
And they wouldn’t want it any other way.
Four days removed from their upset win over Carlmont in the Central Coast Section final, the San Benito girls basketball team continued to make history Tuesday at Mattson Gym in Hollister as they defeated C.K. McClatchy of Sacramento 52-45 in the second round of the NorCal Championships.
Vanessa Farias scored a game-high 18 points and Victoria Aguilera added 13, all in the second half. Bri Romero, who got into foul trouble midway through the third quarter, still managed to pocket 11 points, six in the first quarter, and helped push San Benito in what was the team’s first-ever NorCal appearance.
“We were pretty pumped,” said Aguilera, who added that nerves were non-existent for the team before the game started. “We had a lot of energy.”
San Benito, which entertained a packed Mattson Gym crowd for their first home game since Feb. 7, will now play in the regional semifinals at top-seeded Berkeley, which defeated Skyline 68-32 Tuesday.
Berkeley, which enters the contest with a 28-3 overall record, also enters with plenty of NorCal experience, as they have been the Division I state runner-up the last two years in a row.
Experience, though, has been a non-issue for San Benito so far.
“I think what was important was with an experienced team like they have, and the fact that we handled all that in the fourth quarter, it seemed like it was last game; we find a way to get buckets at the end of the game,” coach David Kaplansky said of McClatchy. “We kept the tempo in the fourth quarter to where it was in the first, and I thought that kind of got us our momentum.”
McClatchy, which trailed from the start of the game, grabbed a narrow 38-37 lead with 5:22 remaining after Jackie Wada sunk her third 3-pointer of the contest.
But San Benito, like they had done against Carlmont in the fourth quarter on Friday, turned the Lions back in the waning minutes and outscored McClatchy 15-7 to end the game.
McClatchy’s one-point lead lasted for less than 15 seconds on Tuesday, as Aguilera’s jumper in the paint on the ensuing possession gave San Benito a 39-38 edge.
“There was still a lot of time on the clock,” Farias said. “It was only one point … There have been teams that have been up by point (on us), but hey, we still manage to work through it.”
One player who had to work through it was Aguilera, who scored eight of her 13 points in the final stanza, but struggled at the start of the game by shooting 0 of 4 from the field.
“I looked at my step dad (in the stands),” Aguilera said. “And he was like, ‘Come on, shoot the ball.'”
With a little positive reinforcement from the bleachers, Aguilera finished the game shooting 4 of 5 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
“I think she did a great job. She’s perimeter-oriented as far as defensively and offensively,” Kaplansky said. “It was nice to have Victoria tonight because she could play that perimeter and she could use her length to get her hands up.”
After San Benito jumped out to a 16-7 first-quarter lead, McClatchy used the kick-out pass and hit three of their six 3-pointers in the second quarter to cut San Benito’s lead to 26-20 at halftime.
And it was a similar story in the second half. Using Ariel Thomas to penetrate the basket, the Lion guard would either go up for a shot in the paint or kick the ball out to a teammate on the perimeter.
“Their quickness is unbelievable,” Kaplansky said. “They keep attacking the basket … They want you to help out and they’re gonna find the open girl for the 3-point shot.”
Trailing by eight to start the fourth, McClatchy began the final period on a 10-1 run to take a one-point lead. But after Aguilera’s basket on the ensuing possession, San Benito did not relinquish the lead again.
San Benito will play at Berkeley on Thursday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Note: According to Kaplansky, McClatchy made 199 3-pointers this season … San Benito shot 18 of 51 from the field, 12 of 20 at the line. They committed 10 turnovers … McClatchy shot 17 of 50 from the field, 5 of 8 at the line. They committed 11 turnovers.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
CKM 7 13 8 17 45
SB 16 10 10 16 52
CKM (45) – Tsumura 1-3 0-0 2, Wada 4-9 2-2 13, T. Hironaka 2-6 0-0 5, J. Hironaka 5-13 3-4 15, Thomas 5-16 0-2 10.
Three-point goals: Wada 3, T. Hironaka 1, J. Hironaka 2.
SB (52) – Aguilera 4-9 5-6 13, Ademek 2-6 0-0 4, Farias 5-14 5-8 18, Fata 1-6 0-0 3, Romero 5-10 1-4 11, Russell 1-4 1-2 3.
Three-point goals: Farias 3, Fata 1.
