Alyssa Rodriguez scores 31, leads Hawks past Georgiana Bruce
Kirby 62-24 on Tuesday
San Juan Bautista – After a difficult preseason that yielded only two wins, the Anzar girls basketball team opened the Coastal Athletic League Tuesday and played some of their best basketball of the year.
Led by a 31-point performance from Alyssa Rodriguez, the Hawks routed visiting Georgiana Bruce Kirby 62-24 in San Juan Bautista, and began the new year with a fresh 1-0 league record.
“The great thing about this game is that everyone scored and contributed,” coach Aaron Netzel said. “I saw a lot of good strides, and we’re not 100 percent really.”
Anzar was without Carly Johnson, who was sidelined with an injury for the game.
Nicole Mello had 10 points and five rebounds and Liliana Resendez added eight points for Anzar, who committed only 11 turnovers in the game, their lowest total of the season.
Kirby, on the other hand, had 46 turnovers on the night, which led to countless scoring opportunities for Anzar. In fact, the Hawks took a whopping 47 more shots than the Santa Cruz school, a statistic that likely resulted in the lopsided win.
Despite the one-sided affair, though, Netzel is interested in seeing how his Hawks play the second time around, when Kirby hosts Anzar later this month.
“I was overall proud of the effort,” Netzel said. “I’m interested to see how we’ll play the second time. I think we can improve defensively, for sure.”
The Hawks carried a comfortable 30-8 lead to halftime, a lead made possible by Anzar’s half-court trap in the first quarter. The trap defense allowed the Hawks to jump out to a 20-4 lead on 10 of 19 shooting.
And Rodriguez was the key contributor in the first quarter, scoring 14 of her 31 points in the opening stanza. It marked the third time Rodriguez has eclipsed 30 points this season.
“I didn’t really have to change my game plan,” Netzel said. “We used a half-court trap and adjusted to a zone after that.”
Camille Merz had six points and pulled down four boards, Emily Anderson added three points, and Kristina Pavese and Lexy Deaton each added two points apiece. Deaton also had four rebounds in the game.
Anzar (1-0, 3-6) compiled a 2-6 preseason record against teams from the Tri-County, Monterey Bay and Mission Trail athletic leagues earlier this season. This was the first contest against an opponent from the CAL.
Anzar will host Marina on Thursday in San Juan Bautista. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
Note: Anzar shot 28 of 80 (35 percent) from the field and 5 of 12 (42 percent) from the line … Kirby shot 10 of 33 (30 percent) from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line … After the game, Kirby fans noted Anzar’s good sportsmanship to coach Netzel.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
ANZ 20 10 8 24 62
GBK 4 4 6 10 24
ANZ (62) – Anderson 1-3 1-4 3, Deaton 1-1 0-0 2, Mello 5-12 0-0 10, Merz 3-5 0-2 6, Pavese 1-8 0-0 2, Resendez 3-18 2-2 8, Rodriguez 14-33 2-4 31.
Three-point goals: Rodriguez 1.
