No matter how long they last, streaks are made to be broken.
A 3-pointer by Mustangs’ junior Dani Hemeon from half court to
beat the third-quarter buzzer turned the tide, not only in the
game, but in the rivalry as well, as GHS upset San Benito 48-45 in
a crucial Tri-County Athletic League showdown in Gilroy on Tuesday
night.
GILROY
No matter how long they last, streaks are made to be broken.
For two years, the San Benito girls basketball team owned the rivalry series with the Gilroy High Lady Mustangs.
For seven games in a row, including last year’s Central Coast Section Division I semifinals, the Lady Balers walked off the court victorious after each meeting.
However, a 3-pointer by Mustangs’ junior Dani Hemeon from half court to beat the third-quarter buzzer turned the tide, not only in the game, but in the rivalry as well, as GHS upset San Benito 48-45 in a crucial Tri-County Athletic League showdown in Gilroy on Tuesday night.
“I guess I got a good look at it and threw up a prayer,” Hemeon said. “This is huge.”
Hemeon’s buzzer-beater sent the hometown crowd into an uproar and gave the Lady Mustangs a 39-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter, eliminating a nine-point halftime deficit.
“When the game mattered most we just gave the ball away,” Balers head coach David Kaplansky said. “I’d have to say that between the turnovers on the offensive side and allowing the penetration in the paint, that cost us the game.”
If judged as a four-round heavyweight bout, the score card would have read dead even heading into the final period.
“We are at the point now where we have to win games,” GHS head coach Tim Jones said. “We adjusted a little bit defensively so they weren’t getting so many open lay-ups. The Hemeon shot was a huge momentum shift for us. It got the crowd up and it was a real positive for us.”
Before the Lady Mustangs dealt the final blow, both teams started the game trading shot for shot in the first quarter, ending as a draw with the score knotted at 14 apiece as the two teams felt each other out.
But the Balers took control of the game in the second behind the strong play of senior Victoria Aguilera, who torched the Lady Mustangs’ defense from all areas of the floor.
“If I feel my shot like in the first half, I’ll shoot. I’ll make a move down low. I’ll play both,” said Aguilera, who scored a game-high 20 points.
As the Lady Balers’ offense found its groove, the Lady Mustangs’ shooters went cold, going scoreless for a three-minute span in the second quarter. Aguilera and company went on a mini 7-0 run in that time, capped by an Erin Glasspool 3-pointer from the top of the arc for a nine-point advantage.
“We went into our little talk and Lauren Rhodes said, ‘Guys, we just need to win,'” said junior Chelsea Hill, who posted a team-high 18 points for the Mustangs.
Ashley Lambert opened the scoring in the second half with a deep 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six, helping the Lady Mustangs kick-start their comeback. Four points from Hill and three from Lindsey Foster kept the Lady Mustangs within striking distance as time ticked down in the third quarter, before Hemeon delivered the show-stopper.
“We got some good baskets that kept it close, then that crazy half-court shot,” Hill said. “That kicked off the fourth quarter and we went on from there.”
GHS outscored San Benito 17-7 in the third.
“That third quarter was the difference,” Kaplansky said. “I might lose some sleep tonight. This one will be tough to swallow.”
Hill led all GHS scorers with 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Foster finished with seven points and Lambert and Sovi Nou had five apiece to round out the Mustangs’ leading scorers.
Other than Aguilera’s 20, no other Lady Baler reached double digits. Nicole Rianda had seven points, six coming in the first quarter, and both Glasspool and Cyrena Salinas had six.
The win lifts GHS (15-6, 8-2) into second place in the TCAL behind undefeated North Salinas, which will host the Lady Mustangs on Thursday. San Benito (17-4, 6-3) drops into third place and will look to put a stop to a two-game skid Thursday against Notre Dame.
JV Note:
The San Benito Lady Balers lost to the Gilroy Mustangs 53-26 on Tuesday night in Tri-County Athletic League action.
The Lady Balers, now 12-6 overall and 4-5 in the TCAL, managed to keep pace with the Mustangs in the first half, and only trailed by a 24-19 margin at the break.
But Gilroy outscored San Benito 29-7 in the second half to pull away with an easy victory.
“I was very excited going into halftime,” San Benito head coach Karen Fortino said. “But we came out very cold in the second half.
“We needed to be a little more aggressive … and we just didn’t.”
Fortino did highlight the play of Darian Maroney, who was strong underneath the boards, while Tawne Haynish led the Lady Balers with seven points.
Carrie Gutierrez added six points and teammate Olivia Diaz had five.
San Benito will return to the court on Thursday when it will host Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SANB 9 10 2 5 26
GILR 14 10 12 17 53
