The San Benito girls basketball didn’t want to leave anything to
chance this time around against visiting Gilroy.
The Balers won their first meeting in Gilroy, but had to go to
overtime to do it. San Benito was only behind in the opening minute
of the game en route to a 54-44 win Tuesday night.
The San Benito girls basketball didn’t want to leave anything to chance this time around against visiting Gilroy.
The Balers won their first meeting in Gilroy, but had to go to overtime to do it. San Benito was only behind in the opening minute of the game en route to a 54-44 win Tuesday night.
“Our defense made the difference this time,” said Baler coach Tom Dean, whose team is 18-6 overall and 5-2 in league. “After the Salinas game we changed the way we played man-to-man to be a little more controlling. We are able to switch off more than in the past.”
Gilroy coach Kari Williams said the biggest difference this time was her team’s 11-for-26 performance from the free-throw line.
“Any time we would get close, we couldn’t hit our free throws,” Williams said. “They physically outsized us at every position. They were rebounding. We tried to front them and deny them the weak size. But we couldn’t handle their size.”
The Mustangs, with three sophomore starters, tied the score at 10-10 in the first quarter on a long two by Shante Mancera. But the Balers answered right back with a pair of buckets from Jaime Hall, who led all scorers with 18 points.
Hall’s post presence was especially felt in the fourth quarter when she scored nine points. When the Mustangs tried to put a body on her, she would make a move to draw the foul. Hall went four for six from the free-throw line.
“She has developed a couple of pretty good moves down low,” Dean said. “She is also positioning herself well. She is getting better all the time.”
Both Hall and Mallorie Wilson had ten rebounds each for the Balers.
The Balers continued the pressure in the second half as Johni Kieswetter and Denise Simens hit a pair of free throws. By halftime, the Balers had built up a 30-19 lead.
But Gilroy chipped away in the third quarter going on a 12-5 run. The Mustangs started to take advantage of turnovers and were moving the ball well on offense.
“We got away from working the ball inside, and our guards weren’t attacking the basket,” Dean said. “We were just hanging out on the perimeter.”
Kristen Campos, who had ten points for the Mustangs, opened up the quarter with a three-point shot. Gilroy was within five points to start the fourth quarter.
But Sarah Hoeft, who was in foul trouble most of the game, fouled out with 5:53 left. Amanda Link fouled out just minute after. Without two of its tallest players, the Mustangs couldn’t contain the taller Baler team. Last time the teams played, Gilroy had three players foul out.
“They play physical, but they give up a lot of fouls,” said Baler coach Tom Dean. “They give it a lot of effort you can’t knock that. If they would stay out of foul trouble, they would be a team to be reckoned with. They didn’t give up.”
The Balers will play North Salinas on Thursday.
Gilroy 10 9 12 13–44
San Benito 10 20 5 19–54
Gilroy: Mancera 2 2-4 6, Costa 1 2-3 4, Correa 1 0-1 0, DiFiore 1 0-0 2, Hussey 0 1-2 1, Hoeft 1 0-0 2, Nowakowski 1 0-3 2, Link 4 1-2 9, Campos 3 3-5 10, Okere 3 2-7 7 Totals 17 11-26 44
San Benito: Simens 0 2-2 2, Andrewson 3 1-2 7, Anaya 0 0-2 0, Flores 1 1-3 3, Kieswetter 1 2-2 3, Leal 1 0-0 1, Lee 4 1-2 9, Almaguer 0 3-4 3, Osbourne 0 0-3 0, Wilson 2 0-0 4, Hall 7 4-6 18, Walton 1 0-0 2.
