What was so impressive about San Benito’s 48-37 victory over
Evergreen Valley in Saturday night’s Central Coast Section Division
I championship was how quickly, how easily, the momentum shifted to
the Lady ‘Balers’ favor
What was so impressive about San Benito’s 48-37 victory over Evergreen Valley in Saturday night’s Central Coast Section Division I championship was how quickly, how easily, the momentum shifted to the Lady ‘Balers’ favor.
Things weren’t going terribly well for San Benito at points in the second and third quarters at Santa Clara University. Although the Lady ‘Balers led 11-4 after one period, Evergreen Valley marched all the way back to take an 18-17 lead late in the second, and even held a 29-24 lead at one point in the third behind a total of six 3-pointers.
It doesn’t seem like much, but considering San Benito topped Evergreen Valley by 29 points in a game on New Year’s Eve at the Dons Club Holiday Tournament, trailing by five perhaps came as a bit of a shock.
“Honestly, it’s CCS. I think it’s the intensity. Both teams want it so bad,” senior guard Vanessa Farias said. “Don’t get me wrong, in that (Dons Club) tournament, you want it too but it’s not as big as CCS.
“I feel like during CCS, they stepped it up tremendously, tremendously.”
The same cane be said for San Benito, though.
After Alyssa Prudencio nailed a trey with 2:59 remaining in the third, giving the Cougars a 29-24 lead, the Lady ‘Balers never panicked and instead went right back to the post, where the 6-foot-1 Lauren Adamek had about three or four inches on Evergreen’s tallest player.
“At the tournament in Del Mar, they had a player (Prudencio) coming back from Hawaii, and she was definitely a benefactor of their team. She works really hard and she’s a great player,” Adamek said. “But I think CCS, and everything about CCS, made everybody play harder.”
Anchored by Adamek in the paint, the Lady ‘Balers finished the game – from the 2:59 mark in the third to the end of regulation – on a 24-8 run, including a 12-0 spurt to open the fourth quarter where Evergreen Valley was kept scoreless for five minutes.
Game. Set. Match.
Watching the Lady ‘Balers five points down may have been a surprising revelation to some – the last time things weren’t going terribly well for this team was Feb. 6, when San Benito lost on the road at North Salinas –Â but what seemed to be more astonishing was just how rapidly they turned a back-and-forth championship battle into a one-sided, fourth-quarter shellacking.
For the stat nerds, San Benito shot 6 of 16 from the field and 5 of 5 at the line in the fourth quarter, while Evergreen Valley was 1 of 12 from the field and 3 of 6 at the charity stripe.
Not bad.
On Sunday, San Benito (24-4) was awarded the No. 3 seed in this week’s CIF Northern California State Basketball Championships, and they’ll host No. 6 Deer Valley (22-7) in Hollister on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Not good, especially for a first-round opponent.
Deer Valley, aside from what a No. 6 seed would imply, is a very, very good team. But what did you expect in the Nor Cal playoffs?
However, one could very well make the argument that whichever team emerged from the powerful North Coast Section would earn the No. 1 seed in Nor Cals. Danville’s Monte Vista defeated Deer Valley 57-40 in the NCS final, and Monte Vista, ranked No. 10 in the state according to MaxPreps, received the top seed as a result.
But it’s a tough draw for San Benito, to say the least. Deer Valley played six top-25 teams in the state this season, including Brea Olinda, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation (Deer Valley lost 65-47).
Deer Valley, ranked No. 37 in the state, isn’t blessed with a tremendous amount of height, although they do have five 6-footers. Senior center Emily Allard leads the team with 15.5 points per game.
Although the Wolverines even topped Berkeley 62-50 in the NCS semifinals this year, they will have to travel from Antioch to Hollister on Tuesday night.
Mattson Gym, be ready.
“We’re excited to play them at home,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “It’s a team that has had a lot of success this year.”
If you haven’t seen the Lady ‘Balers this season, or weren’t at the game on Saturday night, first of all, what’s the matter with you?
But seriously, this is very likely the final home game of the season for San Benito, the final time this year to see a suffocating defense, the final time this year to see Hollister’s back-to-back section champions.
All in the comfort of Mattson.
“We play them at home,” Kaplansky said, “and we have to use that as an advantage.”
