Despite a slow start, the San Benito girls basketball team began its league season on a winning not Thursday, beating Alisal 45-23.
The victory improves the Balers record to 7-6 in the season.
After a five day layoff, the game didn’t start strong for the Balers or the Trojans, as the two teams combined for 13 turnovers and only six points in the game’s first eight minutes. Defenses limited opportunities, but neither team could sustain any offensive momentum.
“We didn’t have our legs under us,” SHBS head coach Mitch Burley said. “That’s something I told them at the half. They needed to use their legs more.”
With such offensive struggles, the Balers could only take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
San Benito struggled from the floor, hitting only six of its 26 shots.
Meanwhile, though, the defense played well, forcing the Trojans to shoot long-ranged shots. Overall, the Balers forced 13 first-half turnovers to build their slim lead.
The second half, though, was a different story for San Benito. Behind a combined five 3-pointers from Taylor Fabing (a game high 13 points), Katherine Angeles (six points) and Desirae Canela (three points) the Balers finally pulled away from the Trojans. Ellie Burley added 11 points in the victory.
“We finally started to make our shots,” Mitch Burley said. “I’ve been saying we needed to start doing that, and it was good to see tonight.”
The defense, though, continued to play well by forcing nine turnovers in the final two quarters. In four quarters, the Trojans never scored more than nine points in any quarter.
The Balers pulled away for good in a 20-point fourth quarter. Five Balers contributed points in the final eight minutes, as Alisal could never make a run to pull closer.
San Benito continues its league slate Tuesday against Salinas at 7 p.m. in Hollister.
Anzar girls basketball
The Hawks improved to 7-3 Thursday, defeating KIPP Collegiate 46-21 in the first Mission Trail Athletic League game of the year in San Juan Bautista.
Freshman Tera Reed scored a game-high 18 points to help the Hawks pull away with the win. Fellow freshman Justine Lee finished with six points.
The Hawks return to the court Friday against Soledad at 4 p.m. They will also play Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in San Juan Bautista.
