After previously earning titles at the Wildcatz Invitational in
Watsonville and the Winter Jam in Salinas, San Benito added to its
trophy shelf on Thursday when it defeated Prospect 46-39 in the
championship of the Dons Club Holiday Tournament in San Jose.
SAN JOSE
Another weekend. Another tournament. Another championship for the San Benito Lady Balers.
After previously earning titles at the Wildcatz Invitational in Watsonville and the Winter Jam in Salinas, San Benito added to its trophy shelf on Thursday when it defeated Prospect 46-39 in the championship of the Dons Club Holiday Tournament in San Jose.
It is the second straight year San Benito has earned the Dons Club crown at Del Mar High, where earlier in the week the Lady Balers posted victories over Mountain View (50-30) and Sobrato (60-21) to advance to the title game. It is also the third straight tournament championship this season for San Benito, which currently boasts an 11-1 overall record.
Head coach David Kaplansky was pleased with the win, which saw the Lady Balers pull away with the victory in the fourth quarter on a 16-11 scoring run.
“We forced 30 turnovers and we just wore them out in the fourth quarter,” said Kaplansky, whose team led 30-28 heading into the final eight minutes of play. “But they gave us everything they had in the third quarter.”
Prospect managed to outscore San Benito 15-13 in the third, a back-and-forth quarter that carried into the final period, Kaplansky said. It wasn’t until there was four minutes remaining in the game when the Lady Balers pulled away.
“You could tell they were pretty tired,” Kaplansky said of Prospect.
San Benito, meanwhile, was just getting warmed up in the second half after the first half spelled problems offensively.
“I was real proud of the defense. We made it difficult for them to score,” Kaplansky added. “We just couldn’t hit our shots.”
San Benito’s two leading scorers, Victoria Aguilera and Erin Glasspool, who nearly average a combined 27 points per game, were held to just two points combined in the first half against Prospect.
“We came out and played a real good man defense in the first half,” Kaplansky said. “I really liked the way we rotated, and we rebounded well. We just weren’t knocking down shots.”
“And our shot selection was great. But they just weren’t going in.”
Nevertheless, San Benito received nine first-half points from Cassie Pate, while teammate Cyrena Salinas drained a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter to keep the Lady Balers ahead at the break, 17-13.
“They gave us a big boost,” Kaplansky said. “They did a great job leading our offense in the first half.”
And Aguilera and Glasspool managed to come on strong in the third quarter, too. Aguilera contributed 10 of her team-high 12 points in the period, while Glasspool had 10 points in the second half.
Afterward, Glasspool and Pate, who finished with 11 points against Prospect, earned all-tournament status, while Aguilera was named MVP of the Dons Club tourney.
While the win marks San Benito’s third straight victory this season, it could also pay even more dividends down the road, as Prospect plays within the same league as top Division I schools like Santa Teresa and Evergreen Valley. If Prospect were to beat either of those schools in league play, last Thursday’s win at Del Mar High could perhaps supply the Lady Balers with additional points in the postseason.
San Benito will now open TCAL play on Tuesday. The Lady Balers will host Everett Alvarez at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
Tip-off is 7 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
PROS 7 6 15 11 39
SANB 9 8 13 16 46
Prospect (39): A. Sablan 5 0 0-0 10, S. Tandun 1 1 0-0 5, T. Parker 1 0 0-0 2, N. Harada 0 1 0-0 3, E. Oyazalbal 2 0 0-0 4, M. Rogers 5 0 5-5 15.
San Benito (46): V. Aguilera 6 0 0-1 12, V. Casalegno 1 0 1-2 3, E. Glasspool 1 2 2-2 10, C. Pate 4 0 3-4 11, M. Vallejo 0 0 2-2 2, C. Salinas 1 2 0-0 8.
JV Note:
Falling behind 10-2 at the start against Aptos, the San Benito girls junior varsity basketball team battled back before halftime, then staved off the Mariners late en route to a 48-38 victory at the JV Winter Jam Tournament championship in Salinas last week.
Despite the early eight-point deficit, the Lady Balers closed to within one point before the end of the first quarter, then grabbed a 27-25 lead heading into halftime.
Ellie Burley finished with a team-high 15 points for San Benito, which improves to 8-1 overall. Teammate Victoria Bustamante deposited 14.
“The ball game was a dog fight,” San Benito head coach Karen Fortino said. “Aptos put us in a full-court press.
“But our girls, they never gave up, never let up.”
After outscoring Aptos 12-9 in the second period to earn a two-point lead at the break, the Lady Balers opened the game up in the third quarter when they went on a 14-7 surge, keeping the Mariners to single digits with a box-and-one defense.
“We were able to compose ourselves and get back into the game,” Fortino said. “Kayla Ortiz had an outstanding defensive performance.”
Tawne Haynish added nine points for the Lady Balers, and Carrie Gutierrez added six.
It was the second straight year San Benito has earned the JV Winter Jam Tournament championship.
The Lady Balers will now open Tri-County Athletic League play on Tuesday when Everett Alvarez will visit Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SANB 15 12 14 7 48
APTS 16 9 7 6 38
