San Benito couldn’t capitalize on the offensive end early, but
prevented Scotts Valley from doing the same as they defeated the
Falcons 55-41 Wednesday in the opening round of the Seaside Sweet
16 Tournament.
Seaside
San Benito couldn’t capitalize on the offensive end early, but prevented Scotts Valley from doing the same as they defeated the Falcons 55-41 Wednesday in the opening round of the Seaside Sweet 16 Tournament.
Vanessa Farias had 18 points and Elena Fata contributed 16 to lead San Benito, who will now take on the winner between North Salinas and Buhach Colony of Atwater in the second round of the tournament today in Seaside.
With their next opponent being either the defending Tri-County Athletic League champion (North Salinas), or the team that defeated them (Buhach Colony), the Lady ‘Balers should have their hands full with their second-round opponent.
But San Benito improved as the game progressed Wednesday, and coach David Kaplansky noted the difficulty of playing in a game one day after the Christmas holiday.
“We had four days off and it showed,” Kaplansky said. “But we played when we had to play.”
The ‘Balers, who never trailed in the game, had difficulty finishing their shots in the paint early on. With most of their attempts coming from inside, San Benito shot 7 of 25 from the field in the first quarter.
“We attacked from the interior but we couldn’t make a shot,” Kaplansky said. “But they were good shots … As the game grew on, we got a little more organized.”
San Benito still held a lead after one due to their defense, though, which forced six of 17 turnovers in the first quarter alone.
It was similar in the second quarter, where the Lady ‘Balers shot 3 of 16 from the field (20 of 63 for the game), but a lockdown defense once again gave the advantage to San Benito.
In fact, Scotts Valley’s leading scorer, Alex Price (14 ppg), scored all 12 of her team’s points in the first quarter. But she was held to just seven points for the remainder of the game.
“She killed us in the first quarter,” said Kaplansky, who was pleased with the stifling defense from Farias on the night. “But we make our lay-ins, and it’s a 30-point game.”
San Benito held an eight- to 10-point lead through the second half, and got up to a 12-point lead midway through the fourth before Scotts Valley began putting them on the free-throw line.
Shooting 13 of 17 from the charity stripe, the Lady ‘Balers kept Scotts Valley at bay for much of the game, and even increased their lead in the fourth quarter. The Falcons were 13 of 44 from the field, 6 of 17 from the line.
“When the game got close, we did a real good job in our half-court defense,” Kaplansky said. “We’d get a big steal or an easy lay-up and that really takes the air out of you when you’re trying to come back in a game.”
Fata had eight of her 16 points in the final stanza, and four times she drove to the hoop to draw the foul. She was 4 of 5 from the line.
The Lady ‘Balers (8-2) will now play tonight against North Salinas or Buhach Colony, whose game was not reported by press time. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
Note: San Benito’s Victoria Aguilera shot 5 of 6 from the line. Farias was 2 of 2 … The Lady ‘Balers had 12 turnovers in the game, six of which came in the third quarter … San Benito combined for 34 points in the first and fourth quarters and committed three turnovers. They combined for 21 points in the second and third quarters and committed nine turnovers … San Benito had six different scorers Wednesday, with Farias and Fata combining for 34 of the team’s 55 points.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 17 11 10 17 55
SV 12 10 7 12 41
SB (55) – Aguilera 1-9 5-6 7, Ademek 2-6 1-2 5, Farias 7-16 2-2 18, Fata 6-12 4-5 16, Halstead 3-11 0-0 6, Russell 1-4 1-2 3.
Three-point goals – Farias 2.
