San Benito girls beat Alvarez 50-41; Anzar girls and boys
lose
The San Benito girls basketball team took out a little frustration on Alvarez on Thursday.
After dropping its third straight two-point decision on Tuesday to remain winless in Tri-County Athletic League play, the Haybalers used a big second quarter to beat the Eagles 50-41 on the road.
“It’s important we took the win,” San Benito coach Al Rowe said. “We got the monkey off our back. Now we’ve got to keep going from here.”
Alvarez, which had also lost its first three league games, remains winless in TCAL play and falls to 3-12 overall.
San Benito (4-11, 1-3 TCAL) trailed by three points after the first quarter, but outscored the Eagles 22-12 in the second quarter to take the lead.
The ‘Balers kept Alvarez at bay in the second half, edging the Eagles by a point in each of the final two periods to maintain control of the game.
Vanessa Farias had another outstanding day from the free-throw line. After making 9 of 11 shots from the line in San Benito’s 49-47 loss to Gilroy on Tuesday, the sophomore guard hit 9 of 10 free throws while scoring a game-high 17 points.
Megan Halstead chipped in with 10 points. Jayme Telles added six points, as did Kelsey Russel in addition to providing some outstanding defensive play.
“We pressed them most of the game,” Rowe said. “Turnovers for (Alvarez) were crucial.”
Freshman forward Natalie Bunch led Alvarez with 14 points and senior Chelsea von Winning added 13.
Stevenson 60, Anzar 22
The Pirates jumped on the Hawks early and coasted to a Mission Trail Athletic League victory.
Robert Louis Stevenson outscored Anzar 13-6 in the first quarter and boosted the lead to 33-10 by halftime.
“They’re a quick team and they can score from the outside,” Hawks coach Paul Lerma said. “The girls came out and played hard, but RLS was a little too much for them.”
Jessica Staley led the way for Anzar (3-9, 1-3 MTAL) with 15 points and Rachel Baker rounded out the scoring with seven.
The Pirates (6-6, 2-0) were led by Marea Goodman’s 16 points and Laura Prelsnik’s 13 points.
Boys Basketball
Anzar struggled in the second half and dropped its first Mission Trail Athletic League contest of the season, falling to Robert Louis Stevenson 54-38.
The Hawks (11-5, 3-1 MTAL) held a 23-22 lead at halftime, but the offense disappeared in the second half as the Pirates (7-6, 2-0) came alive to get the win.
“We just had one of those off nights,” Anzar coach Ed Cecena said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, didn’t defend very well.”
Stevenson outscored the Hawks 15-6 in the third quarter to take a 37-29 lead and Anzar never could make a push in the fourth.
Scott Benson led the Hawks with 17 and Erik Olson added 10.
Evan Santos and Brandon Cottle both scored 13 points to lead the way for the Pirates.
