Point guard Erin Glasspool deposited a career-high 27 points, 24
of which came behind eight 3-pointers, and the San Benito girls
basketball team routed Santa Teresa 56-40 in the semifinal round of
the Dons Club Holiday Tournament on Wednesday night in San
Jose.
SAN JOSE
Point guard Erin Glasspool deposited a career-high 27 points, 24 of which came behind eight 3-pointers, and the San Benito girls basketball team routed Santa Teresa 56-40 in the semifinal round of the Dons Club Holiday Tournament on Wednesday night in San Jose.
The 5-foot-2 guard had her previous career-best on Dec. 18, when she scored 19 points against Pacific Grove. But on Wednesday at Del Mar High School, the senior Baler shined from behind the arc.
“She was on fire,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said.
Coupled with eight points from Nicole Rianda, and six points apiece from Mari Vallejo, Ellie Burley and Kelsey Robledo, the Balers controlled the game from the first quarter on — they outscored Santa Teresa 16-4 in the opening period.
The victory places San Benito (8-3) into the Dons Club final, where it will look to properly defend its championship for the third year in a row. The Balers defeated Evergreen Valley in 2008 and Prospect in 2009 to claim the holiday tournament, and will square off against Division V powerhouse Castilleja on Friday in their third straight finals appearance.
Tip-off is 3:30 p.m.
Castilleja (7-3) was up against Gunderson in the opposite semifinal on Wednesday, and led 23-0 in the first quarter. The private Palo Alto school also previously defeated Westmont (45-44) in the tournament, which recently defeated San Benito 36-27 on Dec. 22.
The Balers struggled offensively in that game and were unable to hit the long-range shot. But none of that was evident on Wednesday against Santa Teresa.
“The difference in the game was our scoring. The kids did a good job all game of finishing,” Kaplansky said.
San Benito pressed Santa Teresa all game, the head coach added, choosing a zone press that forced frequent turnovers against the Saints.
“And we did a good job of not only creating turnovers, but also finishing on those turnovers,” Kaplansky said. “Tonight, they did a good job of capitalizing on Santa Teresa’s mistakes.
“It was definitely our best game of the year. It was a nice offensive game and we were real aggressive.”
Although Santa Teresa managed to cut into San Benito’s sizable first-quarter lead in the second stanza, trailing 24-17 at halftime, the Balers outscored the Saints 32-23 in the latter half.
The two teams met in the Central Coast Section Division I Championships last season, and the Balers played a more defensive role as they defeated Santa Teresa 36-22.
The defense will again be key on Friday against Castilleja, which is led by Natasha von Kaeppler and her nearly 20 points per game.
TEAM — 1 2 3 4 F
ST — 4 13 8 15 40
SB — 16 8 12 20 56
San Benito (56): E. Glasspool 0 8 3-4 27, C. Salinas 1 0 1-2 3, M. Vallejo 1 0 4-4 6, K. Sparrer 0 0 0-2 0, K. Robledo 3 0 0-0 6, N. Rianda 4 0 0-0 8, E. Burley 3 0 0-0 6.
