Girls basketball squad is firing on all cylinders and looking to
send Notre Dame packing
During the past three years, the Notre Dame-Salinas girls
basketball team has gone a perfect 30-0 in league play
– which means that the Spirits have been unbeatable.
But this year there could be a new sheriff in town poised to
take over the role as Tri County Athletic League Champion.
Girls basketball squad is firing on all cylinders and looking to send Notre Dame packing
During the past three years, the Notre Dame-Salinas girls basketball team has gone a perfect 30-0 in league play – which means that the Spirits have been unbeatable.
But this year there could be a new sheriff in town poised to take over the role as Tri County Athletic League Champion.
And if preseason play is any indication, that “sheriff” will most likely be wearing blue-and-gold uniform.
The Gilroy High School Mustangs are firing on all cylinders, ending the nonleague portion of their schedule with a 9-1 record.
GHS is also ranked third in the Monterey Bay Area and one of the favorites to vie for a Central Coast Section title.
In 2003 the Mustangs lost to Archbishop Mitty in the semifinals. In 2004, they lost to Salinas in the title game, and lost last year to Wilcox in the semifinals. This year, head coach Kari Williams believes that her squad is poised to make another serious run at a section title.
But first the goal is to win league.
And that gets underway on Jan. 6 when the Mustangs will travel to Hollister for a showdown with the Balers of San Benito High.
“I think the league is going to be much more competitive this year,” said Williams, who took over the program in 2002. “I don’t think that Notre Dame has even had a close game in three years. But this year it could be different. I think the team that stays healthy and has the best defense will win league.”
This year the Mustangs are getting it done on the court via a strong group of returning senior starters that work well as a unit together. Third-year point guard Kristen Campos has been connecting from long range all year long. So far the senior standout has 18 three-pointers in the first 10 games.
Defensively, senior Marissa Nowakowski has looked impressive guarding the opposition’s top scoring threats and senior Katherine Hussey, who plays the No. 3 position out on the wing, has grabbed a number of big rebounds and has been a major scoring threat all over the court. This season Hussey is averaging 13.7 points a game.
Senior Jessica Groppe, at 5-foot-10, has been smaller than many opposing centers but has held her own.
“She’s one of the most underrated players around,” Williams said. “She has done a fantastic job for us. She rebounds well and plays good defense too.”
Groppe was named the MVP of a recent tournament hosted by Pacific Grove High and is currently averaging 13 points per game.
In addition to the solid group of seniors, sophomore Vanessa Wilkins is performing well in the early going in many different roles.
“She’s a top rebounder and she’s all over the place out there,” Williams said. “She’s really exciting to watch – real scrappy and she gets after it.”
Junior Dana Schoeneman has also looked good as the Mustangs sixth player off the bench. Like Wilkins, she too can play a number of positions.
“She gives us solid work in the post area and she’s picked up good rebound when we have needed them,” her coach said.
During the Christmas break the Mustangs will travel to Phoenix, Ariz. to compete in a tournament that’s put on by Nike Corp. A year ago the Mustangs posted a 1-3 record at the tourney, which includes some of the top high school teams in the western United States.
Consequently Williams is tapering her expectations, but sees the event as an opportunity to strengthen her squad before the start of league play.
“The teams that we played in that tournament last year were so competitive and tall – like giant redwood trees – that when we came back and played in league we seemed to be unaffected by the competition,” she said. “I think it made us better.”
With just a little more than a week left to prepare for league, Williams will be trying to get her squad in better physical condition.
“We’re not really in shape yet,” Williams said. “We’re usually in better shape than this by now. But the girls are working hard. We’re still not quite there yet, but things are coming together.”
If things aren’t quite together at nine wins and one loss, that’s probably not good news for the other teams in the TCAL.
