Girls return to basketball court from cross-country and
vollyeball
A 1-5 start would normally be cause for alarm, but San Benito
High School girls basketball coach Al Rowe isn’t concerned at
all.
Girls return to basketball court from cross-country and vollyeball
A 1-5 start would normally be cause for alarm, but San Benito High School girls basketball coach Al Rowe isn’t concerned at all.
And he shouldn’t be because the majority of his players had obligations with other fall sports teams before they could join up with the basketball team this past week.
“We’ve only had a handful of practices so far with the whole team,” Rowe said. “Two weeks ago, we got all of the cross country runners and last week we got the volleyball players.”
Now that the whole team is assembled Rowe is expecting his Balers not only to vie for a Tri County Athletic League title this season but he wouldn’t be surprised to see his team go deep into the Central Coast Section playoffs – or even win it all.
“You only have to go .500 in the regular season or the preseason to make the playoffs,” said Rowe, who is in his second year with the Balers. “Last year, we tied for third in league and still made it to the CCS quarterfinals. This year, I think we can go further than that.”
This year North Salinas and Salinas High are expected to be the favorites to win the league title. Gilroy High, the defending league champions of a year ago, isn’t expected to fare as well after graduating six seniors last May.
Now that Rowe’s whole team is in place and practicing, the objective over the next few weeks is to get the team to come together before the TCAL season starts the first week of January. The Balers kick off their season at Salinas High School Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
When the season does get under way it is expected that San Benito has enough height at the key positions and athleticism throughout the roster to keep it close with most teams.
One of the players that Rowe got back last week from the volleyball team is sophomore Megan Halstead, who at 6-foot-2, is expected to see the bulk of her time in the center position.
In the early going this season she has been averaging just more than 10 points a game.
“She started last year as a freshman,” Rowe said. “She’s just real tough inside – not afraid to take it to anyone.”
Rowe is equally impressed with Halstead’s ball-handling skills.
“She’s got incredible hands for a big girl, and she gets a lot of blocks and rebounds.”
At power forward the Balers will look to another tall player, who is transitioning from the volleyball to the basketball court.
And at 6-foot-3 inches tall Morgan O’Laughlin is expected to add another dimension to the Balers’ physical presence up front.
“She’s got an incredible outside shot,” Rowe said. “It really helps to open up the offense that we run. When your power forward can take the outside shot it really opens up the defense.”
With players as versatile as O’Laughlin, Rowe plans on running a motion offense that will give most players on the team the chance to play a number of positions while giving Rowe the luxury of setting up a number of plays.
While O’Laughlin is expected to see the bulk of her playing time at the power forward spot, Vanessa Farias will play the other forward spot. She will play out on the wing in the No. 3 guard position.
So far this season Farias leads the team in scoring and is averaging nearly 14 points a contest. She also leads the Balers in three-point shots.
“She’s a tremendous ball handler,” said Rowe, of his 5-foot-6 sophomore standout. “She still has a lot to learn but she really knows how to put the points up.”
At point guard the Balers will look to junior Elena Fata to get the job done this season.
“She has a lot of leadership qualities and she can also put some points on the board,” Rowe said. “She’s a real gutsy player too and not afraid to drive to the bucket. She’s not intimidated by anyone.”
This year she had been to the free throw line almost three times more than anyone else and is averaging more than four points a game from the foul line.
The Balers No. 2 guard this year is junior Jayme Telles. While her counterpart (Fata) is best known for her ability to drive down the lane and pick up fouls, Telles prowess is on the defensive side of the court.
“She has sneaky good defense,” Rowe said. “Her defensive play is really tremendous. She just gets right in there.”
One player to watch coming off the bench this season and playing the role of the team’s sixth player is sophomore Kelsey Russell.
With her “tremendous speed” and leaping ability, Rowe is planning on playing her the majority of the time substituting in one of the guard spots.
“She’s really exciting to watch. She’s all over the place,” he said. “She’s one of our toughest girls.”
And she seems to be improving by leaps and bounds as well. In the first three games of the season Russell hadn’t scored a single point, but in the team’s last game alone she scored 10 and had nine rebounds.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see her break into the starting lineup at some point,” Rowe said. “She really has a nose for the ball, and she gets a lot of loose balls.”
Despite the rough start, Rowe is excited about the Balers’ future.
“Once we get everyone on the same page, we’ll be a real good team,” he said. “We have a good group of girls. Now my job is to get them to gel and learn the offense and defense. We run six different defenses so it’s a little difficult. But if we just take baby steps we’ll all get there together and be on the same page soon.”
