Behind a game-high 18 points from Nici Gilday
— 14 of which came in the first quarter — the Panthers
implemented an ultra-quick 2-3 zone from the start, jumped out to a
21-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 57-30
victory over the Lady Balers on Tuesday night at Hollister’s
Mattson Gym.
HOLLISTER
Last year it was an eye-opener — a game that exposed San Benito’s weaknesses — and it did so in a rather sharp way.
But Tuesday night’s rematch with private power Presentation displayed a much different Lady Balers basketball team, one that forced the Panthers into taking difficult shots at times, and one that broke a full-court trap with far more ease than a year ago.
“I think we played pretty competitive for 25 minutes,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said.
“I liked the fight in the kids.”
For all of San Benito’s advances, though, Presentation (8-1), a Division II power and member school of the West Catholic Athletic League, is ranked No. 1 in the Central Coast Section for a reason.
On Tuesday night, they simply backed it up.
Behind a game-high 18 points from Nici Gilday — 14 of which came in the first quarter — the Panthers implemented an ultra-quick 2-3 zone from the start, jumped out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 57-30 victory over the Lady Balers on Tuesday night at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
The loss, San Benito’s (8-1) first this year, was certainly an improvement over last season’s convincing 72-31 defeat against the Panthers in San Jose, where Presentation ran a full-court trap and a run-and-jump defense on San Benito that caused frequent turnovers.
“Last year we panicked,” Kaplansky said.
Although Tuesday ended with similar results, Presentation was slowed at times on offense — the Panthers have averaged nearly 70 points a game during its eight wins this season.
“Defensively, we did slow them down at times,” Kaplansky said, “and we forced them into some tough shots.
“But they really pushed my kids out in the half court, and they made it tough on our perimeter players.”
Presentation’s zone was highlighted by its speed and its ability to close in defensively on San Benito, leading to contested shots, deflected passes and several turnovers. Pressing and zoning for the entire game, the Panthers never allowed the Lady Balers to get comfortable, while their tall guards prevented passes toward the paint.
“I think we were kind of slow on offense,” San Benito guard Vanessa Casalegno said. “I think we broke their trap good, but once we were in the half court, we were slow.
“We weren’t snapping our passes.”
Unable to find the basket at times on offense, San Benito had difficulty keeping pace with Presentation, which went on two scoring runs — one during the middle of the first quarter, and again to open the second half.
“I felt like we couldn’t get a stop,” Kaplansky said of Presentation’s scoring streaks. “They went on two separate runs where we didn’t recognize where they were. We kind of got lost with that they were doing …”
The Lady Balers kept pace early on when Erin Glasspool drained a 3-pointer from the corner to give San Benito a 5-4 lead, while teammate Victoria Aguilera nailed a deep jumper a minute later, supplying the Lady Balers with a 7-6 lead.
But Aguilera’s basket was the last point San Benito pocketed in the first quarter. The Lady Balers went scoreless for the next seven minutes of play, while Presentation went on a 18-0 run.
“It was really their defense,” said Aguilera, who finished with a team-high 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting. “We couldn’t really get the good passes in there.”
Meanwhile, Presentation’s Gilday was nearly unstoppable, depositing 14 points in the first quarter, 16 points through the first 10 minutes of the game.
Dealing with an unforgiving rim in the first quarter, San Benito’s shots began to fall in the second period when Aguilera ended the scoring drought, while Mari Vallejo delivered a pair of baskets. The Lady Balers, who limited their turnovers to just two in the period, outscored the Panthers 11-7 in the second quarter, but trailed 28-18 at halftime.
“We made shots,” Kaplansky said simply.
The momentum didn’t carry over, though. Opening the second half, Presentation went on a second run — this time 11-2 — before San Benito’s Cyrena Salinas forced back-to-back turnovers and scored on a pair of breakaway lay-ups.
But blessed with plenty of height both inside and out — the Lady Balers were held to just 37 shots compared to the Panthers’ 52 — Presentation never allowed San Benito to mount a comeback.
“They’re a top-ranked team,” Casalegno said. “For a while, we hung in there with them. We have it in us to keep up with them. It just takes that extra effort.”
San Benito will look to rebound on Saturday when they will open the Dons Club Holiday Tournament at Del Mar High in San Jose against Sobrato at 1:30 p.m.
San Benito won the Del Mar tournament last season.
“We can learn from our mistakes,” Aguilera said. “We know they’re a good team, and now we know our weaknesses.”
Notes: San Benito shot 12 of 37 from the field, 5 of 7 from the line … Presentation was 24 of 52 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line … The Lady Balers committed 24 turnovers, while the Panthers committed 14 turnovers.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
PRES 21 7 15 14 57
SANB 7 11 8 4 30
San Benito (30): E. Glasspool 1-7 0-0 3, V. Aguilera 7-10 0-1 14, C. Pate 0-4 2-2 2, M. Vallejo 2-2 0-0 4, V. Casalegno 0-4 1-2 1, M. Lapore 0-0 2-2 2, C. Salinas 2-5 0-0 4.
Three-point goal: E. Glasspool 1.
