From the opening tip when the Hollister High girls basketball
team scored a layin to the final buzzer, the Balers were the best
team on the floor in Friday night’s Mt. Pleasant Tournament
championship contest.
SAN JOSE – From the opening tip when the Hollister High girls basketball team scored a layin to the final buzzer, the Balers were the best team on the floor in Friday night’s Mt. Pleasant Tournament championship contest.
The Balers sped away from Del Mar 66-42, outscoring the Dons in each period.
It was the first tournament championship for a girls basketball team at Hollister since 1987.
“We really wanted it,” said tournament MVP Sarah Groman. “It had been 15 years. We came together as a team (tonight).”
Groman had 16 points and nine rebounds, while power forward Naomi Ruiz chipped in 17 points, hitting 8-of-10 from the floor and eight boards. The Dons simply had no size to contend with the 6-foot-2 Groman and the 5-11 Ruiz, who bulled their way around the paint with aplomb.
“We had no big girls who could guard them,” said Dons coach Reggie Synegal, a resident of Hollister. “Hollister played a great game. They played smart. We fought hard, but came up short.”
Del Mar (2-7) presented the Balers (5-1) problems with quickness. Guard Ali Mollet, who had 22 points, has a lot of skill and could play for most teams in the Central Coast Section. The Balers, especially, had to beware of Mollet’s ability to drive to the hoop.
And the Dons’ Lisa Nwoye was a pest inside on the offensive end, despite being just 5-6. Nwoye, who had 11 points, jumped into Groman on a couple of occasions, drawing a foul on Groman, who was standing straight up. As a result, Groman picked up her fourth foul with 3:05 left in the third period and took a seat on the bench for the rest of the period.
The Dons made a mini-run right after that, closing the Balers’ lead to 47-38. Gina Caianiello came right out of the fourth-quarter gate and drained a three-pointer for 50-38. Caianiello was just getting started. She had a 12-point fourth period and had a team-high 20 points. Caianiello, a member of the all-tourney team, also had eight assists, six steals and committed just two turnovers.
“We talked in the team huddle before the game how no team has won a tournament in 15 years,” said Caianiello. “I’m making smarter decisions than I did last year.”
Trisha Lee had a nice floor game with six assists to go with six points.
“I feel I don’t have to score for us to win,” said the quick-handed and savvy Lee.
The victory pleased Balers’ head coach Richard Silva.
“We wanted to get our inside game going early and we did,” said Silva. “Sarah and Naomi took it to them. We wanted to pound it inside.”
The Balers host King City Tuesday and Santa Catalina on Thursday in a couple of non-league affairs. Both games begin at 5:30 p.m. The Mustangs and Cougars should prove stiffer tests, mainly because they will bring some height in the frontcourt with them.
Tourney notes: Mt. Pleasant nipped Wilcox 46-45 in a thrilling third place game. The Cardinals’ Priscilla Martinez nailed a 3-pointer from the corner off an inbounds play as the buzzer sounded. – The tournament began in 1990. – The All-Tourney Team: Groman, Caianiello, Martinez, Mollet, Kristin Lebkerz (Santa Teresa), Beverly Dagun (Santa Clara), Tina Clor (Wilcox).
Baler JV’s: The Baler junior varsity took third in the Oak Grove Tournament after edging Valley Christian 34-32 on Saturday.
“It was a nail-biter the whole game,” said Baler head coach Tom Dean. “What saved our bacon was the press which caused them to have more turnovers than us.”
The Balers had 33 turnovers and shot 23 per cent from the field.
Ashley Patton, just a freshman, had three blocks and several steals for the Balers and was named to the all-tournament team. Jamie Hall had several steals to go with seven points. Jennifer Crepeau had her “best game”, according to Dean, and contributed several rebounds, steals to go with six points. Courtney Almaguer had several boards and five points, while Rachelle Barrientos had several steals. Stephanie Mauro had a big basket in the third quarter to trigger a 10-4 run.
The Balers (6-1) were knocked into the third place game by Menlo School on Friday as the Knights prevailed 37-29. The Balers endured some cold shooting as they shot just 20 per cent from the field.
“We brought home the third place trophy,” said Dean. “Not bad for a 16-team field.”
Hollister 13 14 20 19 – 66
Del Mar 10 9 19 4 – 42
H –Â Caianiello 7 5-5 20, Groman 8 0-0 16, Ruiz 8 1-2 17, Lee 3 0-0 6, Tremblay 1 2-2 4, Gonzales 1 1-2 3. Totals 28 9-11 66.
DM – Mollet 10 1-2 22, Denieva 1 1-2 3, Nwoye 3 5-9 11, Castro 2 0-0 6, Comick 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 7-15 42.
3-point goals: Caianiello (H); Mollet, Castro 2 (DM).
