In the epitome of a moral victory, Hollister High earned high
marks in pushing the No. 3 team in the Central Coast Section –
Notre Dame – to the limit before losing 58-52 on Wednesday.
In the epitome of a moral victory, Hollister High earned high marks in pushing the No. 3 team in the Central Coast Section – Notre Dame – to the limit before losing 58-52 on Wednesday.
The upstart Balers, who dominated the paint, led 31-27 at the half as the smell of upset permeated the Mattson Gym air.
But, the Spirits (19-2, 5-0 Tri-County Athletic League) in vintage Notre Dame fashion, blitzed the Balers (14-7, 1-4) with 13 unanswered points to start the third period, taking advantage of a slew of Baler turnovers.
An unorthodox jumper in traffic by Gina Caianiello finally broke the run with 3:32 left in the period.
Trailing 44-40 to begin the fourth, the game, which was officiated loosely throughout, got even more physical as bodies began to fly about the hardwood.
The Spirits’ Teri Ann Caoagan attempted to bring some stability to the contest by draining a three-pointer and the Spirits were up seven. The Balers, though, didn’t melt. Trisha Lee scored on a drive with 5:20 left and Hollister, the heavy underdog coming in, trailed just 49-44.
The Spirits Nicole Daye, a major pest, grabbed three offensive boards and scored twice for big hoops in that fourth period. The Balers were down just 56-52 and had the ball in the hands of their best scorer – Caianiello. Caianiello, who was on the left side of the lane about 10-feet out, didn’t offer a shot and the Balers were called for a three second violation with a little over a minute left. That turned out to be their last gasp.
“I wasn’t surprised that Hollister played us tough (tonight),” said Notre Dame coach John Given, whose club was ranked 9th in Northern California and 5th in the state for Division IV schools last week. “Hollister came to play. We knew they would. It didn’t help that we didn’t have our big girl, but don’t take anything away from the way Hollister played.”
The Spirits played without starting senior center Julie Martin, who broke her left thumb diving for a loose ball in the Spirits’ loss at Pinewood Saturday. The Spirits appeared to add to their injury list when Kirstyn Martin, no relation, was bonked in the nose late Wednesday night and could have possibly broken it, according to Given.
The Spirits still had plenty of firepower in point guard Serena Benavente and off guard Jessica Ross. Benavente was spectacular, giving a clinic on ball pressure defense, picking Baler players’ pockets and going the other way with it. She had a team-high 16 points, sharing game scoring honors with Caianiello.
Ross had a nine-point first quarter and looked to be going off for a binge evening. But she never caught fire as in past meetings with the Balers and finished with 11 points.
“We were a half-step slow on defense,” said Given. “We had three games last week and were tired. But much of that has to do with the pressure Gina and Trisha put on us defensivley.”
For the Balers, the loss was no consolation.
However, despite 20 turnovers, they played well, with 26 rebounds and 14-of-18 free throw shooting. The play of power forward Naomi Ruiz, in particular, gave reason to look on the positive with the second half of T-CAL, plus CCS play to come.
“We were real loose before the game and felt good,” said Ruiz, who had 14 points and eight rebounds. “There was something in the air today. We can still end the season 5-5 or 6-4. We have to continue to drive to the basket and get the free throws.”
“We wanted to contain Notre Dame and not give up 80 points or 75,” said Hollister head coach Richard Silva. “Daye hurt us on the boards in that fourth quarter. She was all over the (darn) place and keeping them alive with second and third chances. We did a good job on Benavente and Ross, but Benavente is the catalyst on that team. I was happy the way our girls played. The last couple of minutes we had a bad pass or bad decision. We gave them a heck of a game.”
Moral victories. The Balers are tired of them, but there are still five important T-CAL games left and, at least, one CCS game.
The Lady Balers are at Live Oak on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Baler bits: Caianiello had five assists, while Lee had three steals. Lee also led the Balers in collisions. – Jennifer Tremblay had a rare start for the Balers and responded with eight rebounds and two blocks. – Given called this ND team the best he’s had in his seven years as head coach at the school. The Spirits compete in Division IV of the CCS.
JV score: Hollister 45, Notre Dame 24. The Balers (20-2, 5-0) stayed unbeaten in competition with T-CAL teams beating previously unbeaten Notre Dame. Jaime Hall had 14 points, while Johni Kiesewetter had a season-high 12 points for the Balers.
“The key was our defensive rotation,” said Baler head coach Tom Dean. “It shut Notre Dame down.”
Dean credited freshman Ashley Patton, Rachelle Barrientos and Stephanie Mauro for fine defensive play.
“Patton is the best all-around player on the team,” added Dean. “She’s the best freshman I’ve ever coached. She does things on the court I can’t teach. She has great court sense.”
Frosh score: Balers 56, Notre Dame 47. The Balers (13-4) were led by Amanda Boyd’s 15 points, Jamie Huston’s 12 and Julie Ruiz’ eight points.
Notre Dame 20 7 17 14 – 58
Hollister 14 17 9 12 – 52
ND – Daye 4 1-2 10, Pura 2 0-0 4, Benavente 6 3-4 16, Caoagan 2 1-2 6, Ross 5 0-4 11, Given 2 0-0 4, Martin, K. 1 5-6 7. Totals 22 10-18 58.
H – Caianiello 6 4-4 16, Groman 4 0-0 8, Lee 4 1-2 9, Ruiz 4 6-7 14, Rodriguez 1 1-3 3, Tremblay 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 14-18 52.
3-point goals: Daye, Benavente, Caoagan, Ross (ND).
