Haybalers fall by two points for third straight time in loss to
Gilroy
Hollister – The frustrated look on San Benito girls basketball coach Al Rowe’s face after the game told the whole story.
“I can’t take this anymore,” he said after his Haybalers dropped their third straight two-point decision, falling at home Tuesday to Gilroy 49-47.
San Benito (3-11, 0-3 Tri-County Athletic League) fell to Notre Dame 47-45 on Saturday and lost its league opener to Salinas 51-49 last Wednesday before dropping this close one to the team’s chief rival.
The latest loss was a prime example of a young team that has showed signs of being a good team, but has not been able to finish the job.
“We’re still young, that’s one good thing,” Rowe said of his team that features only one senior. “The next two years are bright. But we’ve got to start now.”
The ‘Balers matched the Mustangs intensity throughout, but struggled to bring down the crucial rebounds and were outrebounded 56-38 by Gilroy.
“They’re not quitting, but they’re tired of losing,” Rowe said. “They know they’re right there. We need to step the defense up. We can put the ball in the basket but we need to shut them down on defense.”
While San Benito sophomore center Megan Halstead had a solid 10-point, 12-rebound performance, the ‘Balers could do nothing to stop Gilroy senior Russhelle Preeshl.
The 5-10 forward had a monster game with season highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds.
“With Dana (Schoeneman) out, I had to step it up,” Preeshl said of the Mustangs center, who missed more than half of the game with foul trouble. “I had to be the person in the paint.”
The first quarter followed what seemed to be the expected tone of the game between two teams that have had their share of offensive troubles this season. Eight minutes in, the ‘Balers held an 8-6 advantage.
The second quarter saw the game’s pace pick up significantly. The Mustangs had one of their best quarters of the season, outscoring San Benito 21-13 to take a six-point lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Gilroy looked as if it would pull away, scoring the first four points to open a 31-21 lead.
But the ‘Balers, as they’ve done all season, came back with a spurt. Elena Fata hit one of her three 3-pointers and San Benito finished the quarter on a 13-6 run to close the deficit to three.
The Mustangs again tried to put away the ‘Balers in the fourth quarter and with just over two minutes to play, Gilroy held a 49-41 lead.
Once again, San Benito had a response, aided by some poor free-throw shooting by the Mustangs.
After Fata hit a pair of free throws, Gilroy missed three straight foul shots over the course of two possessions to allow the ‘Balers to stay alive.
When Halstead scored a bucket inside on a feed from Fata, the lead was trimmed to four points. After a Gilroy turnover, San Benito’s Vanessa Farias went up for a 3-pointer and was fouled by Preeshl, which knocked her out of the game with five fouls.
Farias, who led the ‘Balers with 16 points while connecting on 9 of 11 from the line, hit two of her three shots to make it 49-47.
Gilroy, which was 0 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter and 7 of 19 for the game, missed a pair of free throws late to give San Benito a chance. With the ‘Balers inbounding from the opposite end of the court, a last-ditch effort to get the ball down the court and get off a shot was unsuccessful and the Mustangs held on.
“We didn’t take this team lightly, but we didn’t play with a sense of urgency,” Gilroy coach James Wilkins said. “We have to play every game like it’s the last game of the season. That’s something we have to start working on right now.”
San Benito wasted no time in getting back to work to try to get in the win column in league play as Rowe had his team stick around after the game for shooting practice.
“We’re going to recover as a team,” he said. “We’re going to lick our wounds as a team.”
Sub-varsity: Gilroy scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and defeated San Benito 42-34 in the junior varsity contest.
The GHS freshmen defeated San Benito 30-17.
Gilroy (49)-Tabilas 0, McAvoy 0, Schoeneman 9, A. Spellman 4, L. Spellman 0, Wilkins 6, Preeshl 22, Silveria 8, Magill 0. Totals 21 7-19 49.
San Benito (47)-O’Brien 0, Fata 11, Farias 16, Russel 5, Telles 0, Soza 0, O’Laughlin 4, Halstead 10, Travis 1, Cosalegno 0. Totals 13 17-27 47.
Gilroy 6 21 10 12 – 49
San Benito 8 13 13 13 – 47
3-point goals: SB, Fata 3, Farias.
