Last season, the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division championship race in girls basketball was a two-team battle between Hollister and Alisal. This year, the division is very different.
The crown of the PCAL’s top loop last season was shared by the Balers and the Trojans, as each knocked off the other at home and smashed all the others in the league. No one else came within 15 points of the Balers and no one came within 17 points of Alisal.
For the 2024-25 season, those two remain solid and are joined by Watsonville, Salinas and Soledad, all of whom have become much stronger. It’s a free-for-all among many teams.
“We’re 6-5; it’s not great,” said Hollister coach Mitch Burley, before the league opener. “We’ve played some really good competition. Menlo-Atherton, Valley Christian, Evergreen Valley, Monta Vista of Cupertino. Those are all good teams. We’ve been battle-tested. We’ll see what happens in league.”
League play began with stumbles on the road for Hollister and gave them a hill to climb. On Jan. 6, a back-and-forth contest at Watsonville went to the Catz 43-39.
On Jan. 10, the Balers led up-and-coming Soledad 32-29 late in the third quarter but then fell as the Aztec Warriors put together a huge finish. Nine points in a row gave Soledad a 38-32 lead at the quarter break and they ran away from there for a 56-40 win.
Hollister and Alisal are both rebuilding to an extent.
Coincidentally, last year’s leaders, Bailey Cotter of the Balers and Lesly Rodriguez of the Trojans, are now teammates at Hartnell Junior College. Hollister returns some fine talent and has added in a handful of talented younger players.
Madelyn Davis, Claire Gho and Daniela Orsetti lead a strong front line for this edition of the Balers. In the backcourt, Jadah Gonzalez, Miranda Martinez and Emery Sparling are prime contributors.
Diana Martinez Ruiz, Carlie Rowen, Juliana Brackensick and Ava Garcia provide depth, along with Aiyana Palacios-Hernandez and Elliote Sparling. The team is young and gelling as league play begins. Martinez Ruiz is a freshman and Gonzalez is a sophomore.
“Our strength is probably our defense,” Burley said. “We’re not a good three point shooting team. Our defense is well-connected. We’ve got some new players doing some heavy lifting and some are quite young.”
In the Watsonville game, Davis led Hollister with 10 points, Gonzalez scored eight and Gho contributed seven points and 12 rebounds. The Catz were led by freshman star Isabella Alvarez with 19 points and eight steals.
“We need to pass more and to slow down,” Hollister guard Emery Sparling said, after the game. “We need to work on our rotations. It was a close game and will help us get better.”
Hollister led 25-22 at halftime as Davis and Gonzalez each scored six points. The Catz rallied to take the lead in the third quarter. Three consecutive Alvarez buckets put them ahead 35-27 and the tally was 37-31 after three periods.
Hollister fought back in the fourth quarter. Gho and Gonzalez each scored on follow shots to close the deficit to two points, 41-39 with 1:35 left. But the Balers couldn’t get another score.
“It was exactly what I thought it would be,” Burley said. “They’re a strong team and very physical. We turned the ball over too much and that gave them energy. For us, it was a learning experience.”
Hollister will need to lean on coach Burley’s lessons to climb back in the race. Burley, a stellar point guard at Santa Clara University back in the day, related things learned from his competitive days.
“Win at home and split on the road,” Burley said.
That is not so simple to accomplish, but the formula is spot-on for success. The Balers will try to rebound with home games this week against struggling Monterey and dangerous Alisal.
Hollister will look back to and lean on pre-season wins and experience gained from playing talented competition.
Early season highlights have included a 66-35 rout of Sobrato and a 66-24 crushing of Rancho San Juan. The Balers have shown the ability to win close games, as illustrated in a 46-42 victory over Homestead, a 60-56 triumph against Menlo-Atherton and a 40-39 nailbiter against Mt. Diablo.
Davis scored a season-high 20 points in the M-A game, 15 against Sobrato and 12 versus Homestead. Sperling tallied 14 against both Homestead and RSJ and 13 versus Menlo-Atherton and Monta Vista. Gonzalez scored 16 against Salinas, 13 in a loss to Christopher and 11 against RSJ.
“In pre-season, we played some strong teams,” Gho said. “In the Del Mar tourney, we played some good San Jose teams. We’ll need to beat (Gabilan) teams at home.”
Over the last three seasons, Hollister has a 55-18 overall record and an amazing 30-4 league mark. With the Gabilan Division so much tougher this year, the Balers won’t replicate recent league records. Yet they’ll be in the mix for another league title and have a strong shot at a playoff berth.
“Last year, it was just us and Alisal,” Burley said. “This year, every night will be a hard game.”
