Despite a 21-point performance from Nicole Rianda, the San
Benito girls basketball team could not slow down Aptos on Thursday
night in the opening round of the Alisal Winter Jam, as the Balers
fell short of a comeback by a 47-40 margin.
SALINAS
Despite a 21-point performance from Nicole Rianda, the San Benito girls basketball team could not slow down Aptos on Thursday night in the opening round of the Alisal Winter Jam, as the Balers fell short of a comeback by a 47-40 margin.
San Benito trailed 10-7 after one quarter and 16-14 at halftime before entering the final stanza behind 11 points to Aptos. The Balers rallied, however, and cut the deficit to three points with two minutes to go, but the Mariners stayed afloat late by sinking their final four free throws.
San Benito is now 4-2 overall.
“We played good defense, which kept us in the game,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said of the first half.
The second half proved to be a slightly different story, though. Aptos outscored San Benito 21-12 in the third quarter behind several transition baskets, and took a 37-26 lead to the final period as a result.
“It got real sloppy in the fist four minutes of the third quarter,” Kaplansky said, later adding, “But the kids rallied, down by 11.”
San Benito had a chance to tie the game down by three with two minutes left. Forcing a turnover, the Balers called a timeout to run a set play on a 3-point attempt, but the pass was fumbled and San Benito never got the chance.
Aptos then hit its last four chances from the charity stripe to earn the seven-point win. Meanwhile, San Benito finished 3 of 12 from the free-throw line.
“We need to improve our defensive recognition,” said Kaplansky, also noting the importance of ball possession.
“It’s hurting us,” he added.
The Balers will play the remainder of their schedule of the Alisal Winter Jam in the consolation bracket. San Benito will square off against Greenfield on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
APTS 10 6 21 10 47
SANB 7 7 12 14 40
San Benito (40): E. Glasspool 2 1 0-3 7, C. Salinas 3 1 0-2 9, K. Robledo 1 0 0-1 2, N. Rianda 9 0 3-6 21.
