Gavilan’s Cynthia Pinto drove the lane and was knocked down to
the floor, drawing the foul with six seconds remaining.
She made the free throw to give the Rams a 53-51 win over
Mission College on Friday in Santa Clara.
Gavilan’s Cynthia Pinto drove the lane and was knocked down to the floor, drawing the foul with six seconds remaining.
She made the free throw to give the Rams a 53-51 win over Mission College on Friday in Santa Clara.
“I am so happy for our players to get this win,” said Gavilan head coach Mike Girardi. “They’ve never given up on anything all year. Tonight’s game was another example of that.”
Nicole Donley scored nine of Gavilan’s first 13 points. She finished with 14 points, including four three pointers despite being the focus of Mission College’s box-and-one defense.
Sabrina Murphy led the Rams with 17 points – 15 of those coming in the second half – including seven points in a row. Pinto finished with 14 points, Jenn Tremblay scored four, Lacey Byers and Carolyn Beatty scored two points each.
“We had everyone actively rebounding, especially late in the game,” Girardi said.
The Rams trailed 46-40 with three minutes remaining in the game.
Their intense defense then forced Mission into four turnovers in a row, which led to baskets by Pinto and Murphy for Gavilan. After Mission College made a three-point shot to go up 51-48, Murphy hit a 15-foot jump shot in the corner to cut the deficit to 51-50.
With 17 seconds remaining, the Rams fouled to stop the clock and sent a Mission player to the foul line for a one-and-one situation. Gavilan rebounded the first attempt to set up for Pinto’s last moment heroics.
“This was the epitome of a team win,” Girardi said. “All six players came up with key plays. I’m really excited about these next two weeks of conference play. We can do really well if we consistently make good passes on offense and rebound well on defense. I wouldn’t trade these six girls for anyone.”
Gavilan improves its record to 10-8 overall and 2-4 in Coast Conference North action. The next conference game is at home against Chabot College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Chabot’s record is 9-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
