Highlighted by 28 Salinas turnovers, which led to 23 more shots
on offense for San Benito, the Lady Balers played off their
defense’s rhythm Tuesday, held the visiting Cowboys to single
digits in each quarter, and easily disposed of Salinas 55-18 at
Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
HOLLISTER
At least at the beginning of the game, San Benito’s offense sometimes isn’t consistent enough to put teams away by itself. But the defense is almost always up to the task.
Highlighted by 28 Salinas turnovers, which led to 23 more shots on offense for San Benito, the Lady Balers played off their defense’s rhythm Tuesday, held the visiting Cowboys to single digits in each quarter, and easily disposed of Salinas 55-18 at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
The Lady Balers struggled early on offense, as a much-taller Salinas squad blocked at least seven shots in the first half from both the perimeter and the paint.
But San Benito offset the offensive miscues by forcing 15 turnovers in the first half, including a stretch of five consecutive takeaways in the first quarter that held the Cowboys scoreless for nearly six minutes of action.
“We played consistent defense, all night long,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “One through 13, every girl who played tonight did well defensively.”
Although it shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half, San Benito held Salinas to just four shots in the first quarter.
After Kristina Hlavacek deposited a mid-range jumper to give the Cowboys a 4-3 lead at the 5:30 mark, the Lady Balers closed out the first quarter on an 11-1 run, culminating with a Cyrena Salinas 3-pointer from the shoulder.
Salinas never regained the lead, and trailed 14-5 after one quarter, 24-11 at halftime.
Kaplansky noted his team’s ability against the zone defense, which Salinas employed for much of the contest on Tuesday.
“We were getting really good looks and they were playing behind our bigs,” the head coach said. “Our guards did a good job pump-faking, then finding the pass underneath.
“When they started fronting (our post players), it seemed our perimeter shots started falling. It really put them in a tough situation.”
The inside-out strategy was in full effect in the second half, when San Benito outscored Salinas 31-7.
Erin Glasspool opened the third quarter by burying a 3-pointer from the corner, while Victoria Aguilera and Nicole Rianda then took over the paint by scoring the next nine points for San Benito. Guard Cyrena Salinas then closed out the third quarter with a 3-pointer of her own, pushing the Lady Balers out to a 39-16 lead.
Post player Aguilera finished with 12 points for San Benito, while the point guard Glasspool had 13 points behind three 3-pointers.
Cyrena Salinas chimed in with a pair of treys as well, and Rianda contributed eight points after shooting 3 of 5 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line.
Salinas’ Aimee Sawyer, Ashley Shaw and Hlavacek each had four points apiece, while the Cowboys fall to 1-5 in the Tri-County Athletic League and 6-11 overall.
Meanwhile, it’s the fourth straight victory for San Benito, which improves to 5-1 in the TCAL and 16-2 overall.
The Lady Balers will visit Everett Alvarez (0-6 TCAL, 2-14) on Thursday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
Notes:
San Benito shot 39 percent (22 of 56) from the field and 40 percent (6 of 15) from the line … Salinas shot 24 percent (8 of 33) from the field and 14 percent (1 of 7) from the line … The Lady Balers committed 15 turnovers in the game.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SALN 5 6 5 2 18
SANB 14 10 15 16 55
Salinas (18): A. Sawyer 2-5 0-0 4, S. Pacheco 1-7 0-2 2, H. Land 1-2 0-0 3, K. Hlavacek 2-7 0-0 4, J. Sidor 0-3 1-4 1, A. Shaw 2-5 0-1 4.
Three-point goals: H. Land 1.
San Benito (55): V. Casalegno 0-1 1-2 1, V. Aguilera 5-13 2-6 12, E. Glasspool 5-10 0-0 13, E. Miskin 1-1 0-0 2, N. Rianda 3-5 2-2 8, M. Cortez 2-4 0-0 4, M. LePore 1-2 0-0 2, G. Magee 1-2 1-1 3, E. Burley 1-1 0-4 2, C. Salinas 2-9 0-0 6.
Three-point goals: E. Glasspool 3, C. Salinas 2.
JV Note:
The San Benito Lady Balers fell behind 16-8 after the first quarter and couldn’t comeback against visiting Salinas on Tuesday night, as the Cowboys cruised to a 43-24 victory at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
Salinas took a 26-12 lead at halftime, while the two teams more or less exchanged baskets through the third and fourth quarters of play.
San Benito is now 3-3 in the Tri-County Athletic League and 11-4 overall.
“We came out in a half-court man and they just kind of ran us a little bit more than we were ready for,” San Benito head coach Karen Fortino said. “We rotated back into a 2-3 zone, which helped us, but we just couldn’t get shots we put up to fall.”
Megan Sabbitini had nine points for San Benito, while teammates Carrie Gutierrez and Tawne Haynish added six and four points, respectively.
“We just couldn’t seem to get in a rhythm tonight,” Fortino added.
San Benito will visit Everett Alvarez on Thursday night. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SALN 16 10 10 7 43
SANB 8 4 10 2 24
