Hollister High let visiting Santa Catlina set the tempo and paid
the price Thursday, losing to the Cougars 54-48 in just-for-fun
girls hoop at Mattson Gym.
Hollister High let visiting Santa Catlina set the tempo and paid the price Thursday, losing to the Cougars 54-48 in just-for-fun girls hoop at Mattson Gym.
The Cougars (6-2) played within themselves and played patient, smart basketball, while the Lady Balers tended to rush things in the halfcourt set and struggled with any consistent shooting against a combination defense employed by the Cougs. Hollister, normally a good shooting team, (6-2) shot just 33 per cent (18-54) from the floor and 64 per cent (7-11) from the free throw line.
Still, it was tempo which Baler head coach Richard Silva was left muttering about after the game.
“We were flat,” said Silva. “And we never got our fast break going. Santa Catalina was slow, patient. We’d set one screen and that was it. We needed to set more screens. We knew Santa Catalina was going to be a good team going in. I don’t think we were overconfident.”
The Cougars featured a sleek-looking small forward in D’Mari Crenshaw. Crenshaw slithered her way to a game-high 16 points and appeared too quick for any Baler to guard out on the perimeter. Crenshaw hit a 17-footer from the corner before halftime as the Cougars, on a set play, tossed the ball from one corner to the other with Crenshaw receiving a dubious-looking pick from the weakside post. The shot made the score 27-25 Cougs heading into the intermission and gave them the confidence they needed to pull off what would be considered a mild upset.
Hollister came out stagnant to start the third period as the Cougars, playing a pressure man-to-man, extended their lead to 36-27 on a hoop by Kristin Frick. Frick had six of her eight points in the third quarter.
Baler forward Naomi Ruiz led a mini-charge with five of her 14 points in the third quarter as the Balers closed to within 42-37 heading into the fourth frame and very much in it. Ruiz had a big block at the defensive end of the floor. Moments later, she ran the floor and was rewarded on a rare transition bucket, which went from Jennifer Tremblay to Gina Caianiello to Ruiz for the deuce.
The Cougars called timeout up 44-39 with 6:25 left to play. Ashley Hightower proceeded to sting the Balers with a hoop-and-harm three-point play. Caianiello responded with a coast-to-coast layin. Caianiello then fed Erika Rodriguez for a bucket. Rodriguez later added the Balers’ lone trey of the night in that fourth stanza, in a clutch shot.
The Balers were down just 52-48 when time was called with 1:04 left. The Cougars ran down the clock on one late possession and Hightower hit a backbreaking lean-in banker as the shot clock buzzer sounded for the final hoop of the night.
It was a good night for Baler center Sarah Groman, who had 15 points, 10 in the first half on 7-of-11 floor. Groman also had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Despite Groman’s boardwork, rebounding was a sore subject for Silva.
“We did not rebound well tonight,” said Silva. “Santa Catalina had two and three shots on offense.”
The Balers open up the Oak Grove Tournament with Fremont of Sunnyvale on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Junior varsity: Balers 44, Santa Catalina 10.
Jamie Hall had eight points, while Ashley Patton and Megan Smith had six points each for the Balers (8-1). Jennifer Anaya had the Balers only three-pointer and had five points.
The Balers are in the Presentation Tournament on Dec. 26, opening up against St. Francis at 2 p.m.
Santa Catalina 11 16 15 12 – 54
Hollister 12 13 12 11 – 48
SC – Dowson 2 0-3 6, Crenshaw 7 0-0 16, Hightower, A. 4 1-1 10, Frick 3 2-2 8, Taylor 1 2-2 4, Fogel 3 0-0 6, Hightower, J. 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 5-8 54.
H – Caianiello 4 0-0 8, Groman 7 1-2 15, Ruiz 4 6-7 14, Lee 1 0-2 2, Rodriguez 3 0-0 7, Andrewson 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-11 48.
3-point goals: Dowson 2, Crenshaw 2, Hightower, A. (SC); Rodriguez (H).
