After losing two of its players to injuries, the San Benito girls basketball team took third place at the Alisal Winter Jam Tournament over the weekend.
The Balers (4-4) went 2-1 and finished the weekend with a 53-31 victory over King City on Saturday. In the tournament, San Benito finished with a different top scorer in each game.
“There were a lot of positives for us,” head coach Mitch Burley said. “We did struggle with the new assignments. Hopefully, that will settle down.”
After opening the tournament with a 60-22 win over Aptos on Thursday, the Balers couldn’t come back to Salinas and lost 38-37. In the game, San Benito lost starter Cassandra Barraza to injury.
With less than two minutes left in the game, San Benito trailed 38-30. Behind Elizabeth Reikowski (eight points) and Taylor Fabing (eight points), San Benito scored the game’s last seven points. At the buzzer San Benito missed a half-court shot to win the game.
“We had a chance but we should have played better the rest of the game,” Burley said.
In the third-place game against King City, the Balers’ defense limited the Mustangs’ opportunities. King City never scored more than nine points in a quarter. Meanwhile, the Balers’ Denise Martinez and Desirae Canela led San Benito’s offense with 11 points each.
The Balers season continues 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when they host Soquel in Hollister.
