The 2013-14 season was a forgettable one for the San Benito High girls basketball team.
Beset by injuries—the Haybalers at one time were down four starters—which ruined their chances to vie for a Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division championship, let alone remain competitive.
Barring another year of unforeseen events, San Benito, which finished 4-20 overall and 2-10 in league last year, plans on coming back strong. The Balers, who play their season opener on Dec. 4 in the Sandi Stober Classic at Lynbrook High-San Jose, return 10 players from last year’s squad, including four starters. That’s enough for fourth-year coach Mitch Burley to feel pretty excited for his team’s prospects.
“I think on paper this could be the best team we’ve had in my four years here,” he said. “I think in league we’ll be top three for sure, and I’d be very disappointed if we were not in the top two.”
Burley feels optimistic because of the return of point guard Anjelica Collins and off-guard Denise Martinez, who were both starters on the 2012-13 team that reached the Central Coast Section Division I championship game.
Collins, who basically missed the entire season a year ago due to injury, controls the tempo of a game well, a pass-first player who gets her teammates involved. However, Burley expects Collins to score more than she’s had in the past, which will add another dynamic to an offense that hopes to hit fifth gear from the opening tip.
“I think we’re going to be a bit more up tempo and fun to watch,” he said. “On paper we’re a deeper team than two years ago.”
Burley foresees Martinez, who also missed a big chunk of the 2013-14 season due to injury, as being the team’s leading scorer. Martinez scores most of her points by slashing to the basket and putbacks, the latter a byproduct of her strong rebounding skills.
The Balers also return junior forward Callee Heen, who is one of the team’s most athletic players, and 6-foot post Joselyne Gonzalez, who possesses a solid mid-range jump shot.
Alyssa Newman, a senior forward, provides the team with toughness in the paint and strong rebounding, and senior guard Adriana Ibarra should prove valuable because of her excellent outside shooting.
“Adriana is a really smooth left-handed shooter who is going to do well,” Burley said. Burley also expects good things from juniors Madisyn Gutierrez-Urban and Jessica Bueno, who were the top two players on the junior varsity team a year ago. Burley said Bueno has a knack for scoring on runners in the lane and ability to hit from 3-point range.
This was the first time in Burley’s four years he’s had to make cuts on the varsity squad, perhaps another sign the program is growing. Burley expects to regularly get up to 10 players in his rotation, which should bode well for a team that is expected to play an up-tempo game for 48 minutes.
“I think we’re going to be a team that applies a lot of defensive pressure and be very aggressive scoring it,” Burley said. “This is a team that is going to be a lot easier to coach because the girls know what to do. I think we should be really strong.”
