San Benito had little trouble earning its third win in as many
Tri-County Athletic League games Friday night, beating Gilroy
56-41
GILROY
Defense did the initial damage, while Vanessa Farias finished off the job in the fourth quarter.
The Tri-County Athletic League’s reigning Most Valuable Player showed her worth by scoring eight points in the final period against Gilroy en route to a game-high 23 points and a 56-41 San Benito Lady ‘Balers victory on Friday night.
Farias dominated from nearly all spots on the floor, picking off passes, driving through the lane for layups and canning five 3-pointers from the perimeter. Leading 17-9 after the first quarter and 30-18 at halftime, the Lady ‘Balers left little chance for a Gilroy comeback by going up by as many as 21 points and never leading by less than 10 in the second half.
“I think our pressure defense set the tone,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “I think Farias at the beginning of the game was awesome.”
Chelsea Hill led all Gilroy scorers with 10 points, while Lindsey Foster and Lauren Rhodes both had eight points. Rhodes also dished out six second-half assists. Laura Steele and Jennifer Rose had four points apiece.
With no one Gilroy player able to grab control of the game, the Mustangs fell behind big in the fourth quarter, trailing 54-33 before going on an 8-2 run to end the contest.
“I think some of my young players started really tight tonight,” Gilroy head coach Susan Shapiro said. “They played young tonight against a great team. That’s understandable.”
Shapiro wasn’t alone in that thought.
“I just think Hollister came ready, fired up,” Foster said. “We kind of came out flat.”
Along with Farias’ stellar play, the Lady ‘Balers had a balanced offensive attack, with Erin Glasspool (nine points), Megan Halstead (eight), Victoria Aguilera (seven), Vanessa Casalegno (five) and Nicole Rianda (four) rounding out the rest of the scoring.
It was the first league loss for the Mustangs, placing them at second place in the TCAL at 11-7 overall, 3-1 in league. San Benito stayed unbeaten in TCAL play at 3-0 with the win, while also pushing its overall record to 13-3.
Whether it’s against a traditional rival like Gilroy or any other team from the TCAL, continuing to accumulate quality victories is crucial to the progression of the Lady ‘Balers, coaches and players said.
Doing so could result in repeating as Central Coast Section Division I champs.
“Just keep raising the bar,” Farias said of her team’s season goals. “Last year it was (trying to) win league. This year it’s win league, win CCS and then win [the Northern California Regional].”
Both teams will be back in action Wednesday at 7 p.m., when Gilroy travels to North Salinas and San Benito hosts Notre Dame.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SAN 17 13 11 15 56
GIL 9 9 11 12 41
San Benito (56) – V. Farias 4 5 0-4 23, M. Halstead 4 0 0-1 8, V. Aguilera 2 1 0-0 7, V. Casalegno 1 1 0-3 5, E. Glasspool 3 1 0-0 9, N. Rianda 1 0 2-2 4.
Gilroy (41) – L. Foster 3 0 2-2 8, C. Hill 4 0 2-3 10, J. Rose 2 0 0-0 4, L. Steele 2 0 0-0 4, L. Rhodes 3 0 2-2 8, A. Lambert 0 1 0-0 3, K. Costa 1 0 0-0 2, M. Sosa 1 0 0-0 2.
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity girls basketball team lost 42-30 to Gilroy last Friday after being held to just eight points in the second half.
Michelle Fortino led the Lady ‘Balers with eight points, while teammate Melisah Cortez added seven. Kim Warner (six points), Cyrena Salinas (5) and Jessica Stiegelman (4) rounded out San Benito’s scoring.
“A very tough game,” San Benito head coach Karen Fortino said. “The first half was awesome. But the third quarter we were flat.
“They ran a full-court pressure defense that we just could not beat. We didn’t execute very well, which is strange because all year we’ve been executing very well as a team. But they’re a very good team.”
San Benito is now 2-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 12-2 overall.
After taking a 22-15 lead to the break, the Lady ‘Balers were held to just five points in the third and three points in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Mustangs deposited 27 points in the second half.
San Benito recorded 21 defensive rebounds.
“But offensively we weren’t getting the put-backs,” Fortino said. “We took a lot from it and there are a lot of things we’ll improve upon for next game.”
The Lady ‘Balers will host Notre Dame Wednesday at Hollister’s Mattson Gym. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SAN 10 12 5 3 30
GIL 5 10 16 11 42
