Girls basketball off to 6-1 start
A lot has changed for the San Benito Haybalers since losing to
the Watsonville Wildcats on opening day.
The defensive intensity for the Lady Balers, as they liked to be
called, has picked up, the offense has started to hit the easy shot
and most importantly, the team recently won its first tournament in
15 years.
Girls basketball off to 6-1 start
A lot has changed for the San Benito Haybalers since losing to the Watsonville Wildcats on opening day.
The defensive intensity for the Lady Balers, as they liked to be called, has picked up, the offense has started to hit the easy shot and most importantly, the team recently won its first tournament in 15 years.
On Tuesday the Haybalers continued to roll with a 59-45 victory over the
King City Mustangs at Mattson Gymnasium for their sixth consecutive victory. Haybaler point guard Trish Lee scored 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-5 in the second half.
The change in identity has San Benito Coach Rich Silva eager to see how his team responds tonight when it hosts Santa Catalina at 6 p.m.
“We’ve been doing a great job,” said Silva after his team improved to 6-1.
“We’ve picked up the tempo and have gotten out to early leads. I’m hoping we can build from this.”
The Haybalers jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the first quarter, held a 20 point advantage at the half and never looked back, although the Mustangs were tapping on San Benito’s shoulder all evening long.
The Mustangs tag team of center Natasha Marquis and guard Katelyn Holcomb spurred a fourth-quarter charge that cut the Haybaler lead to four points with a little over two minutes to play. Marquis, who finished with 20 points, hit a turnaround jumper to cut the Haybaler lead to 49-45.
“We knew they were going to make a run,” said Silva. “We just had to keep pounding and pounding away.”
Pound they did. The Haybalers made a concerted effort to feed the ball into the post, where center Sarah Groman and forward Naomi Ruiz went to work. Following the Marquis turnaround, Groman received a pass from the wing into the post then pivoted to her left for the lay up over Marquis.
On the Mustangs’ next possession, Groman rebounded a Marquis miss and sparked a fast break, which led to two free throws by Ruiz. Ruiz ended the evening with 13 points on six-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds.
Lee iced the game with two free throws of her own and added a lay up at the buzzer for good measure.
Lee shook off a slow start and single handedly kept the Haybalers afloat when it seemed as if the San Benito hoop had a lid on it. She swished a jumper with a defender draped all over her, buried a 15-footer with a hand in her face and blew by several defenders with her quick first step.
King City responded with an 11-2 run and showed why they dominates the
Mission Trail Athletic League every year.
“That’s why we have them on our schedule,” said Mustangs Coach Ken Kline.
“They’re a talented team in a tough league and will always bring out the best
in us.”
During the Mustangs run Holcomb showed a deft shooting touch by hitting two three-pointers on fast breaks.
