The San Benito Lady ‘Balers just need to get back to
practice.
The San Benito Lady ‘Balers just need to get back to practice.
That was the sentiment held by players and coaches after the squad lost to Westmoor of Daly City 43-38 in overtime last Saturday at the Seaside Sweet 16 Tournament, their second overtime game in as many days.
One day removed from a 47-40 overtime win against Harbor in which San Benito outscored the Pirates 12-5 in the extra period, the Lady ‘Balers had difficulty finding their shot from the field and from the free-throw line in their fifth- and sixth-place consolation game against Westmoor.
Although the ‘Balers battled back Saturday, outscoring Westmoor 12-3 in the fourth quarter to send the game into extras, San Benito’s overtime luck ended when the Daly City team made six trips to the free-throw line in the extra period.
“I felt like the game was called well for the first four quarters, but I thought the overtime was out of control,” coach David Kaplansky said. Westmoor was 7 of 10 from the charity stripe in the overtime period, while San Benito did not step foot on the free-throw line.
“I felt like we couldn’t get into a rhythm because there were so many fouls called,” Kaplansky added.
However, while free throws made the difference in the game against Westmoor, it was not necessarily because of San Benito’s lack of presence from the stripe in the overtime period.
For the game, the Lady ‘Balers shot 8 of 20 from the free-throw line compared to Westmoor’s 20 of 25.
“No excuse,” said guard Elena Fata of the referees’ calls. “We shot 8 of 20 from the free-throw line and missed a lot of lay-ups. That’s gonna happen and we can’t do anything about those calls.”
Fata had 10 points against Westmoor and was named to the all-tournament team for her play through the four games, which saw San Benito compile a 2-2 record.
After holding Westmoor to just 1 of 12 shooting in the first quarter, San Benito was held to just three points in the second stanza while Westmoor took a two-point lead to the half.
The Lady ‘Balers even trailed by nine after three quarters before San Benito opened the fourth on a 9-3 run to cut Westmoor’s lead to just three.
With 33 seconds remaining in regulation, Vanessa Farias (10 points) hit a 3-pointer from the right side to tie the game and eventually send it to overtime.
From there, though, free throws decided the game.
“We make one more free throw and we win this game in regulation,” Kaplansky said. “I’m proud of the effort and the will not to lose … It showed a lot of character to come back … But the game comes down to free throws in regulation.”
The ‘Balers struggled from the field as well, shooting just 14 of 65 (22 percent), but playing in their fourth game in four days may have had an affect.
“We’re taking good shots, they’re just not falling for us right now,” Fata said. “We had four days off and then we started this tournament. I think it’s just that. We need to get back to practice.”
Kaplansky noted the play of his defense, which held Westmoor to just 43 points through five periods on 10 of 53 (19 percent) shooting.
“The most anyone has scored on us is 43 in overtime,” the coach said. “As a coach, I’m extremely proud of that. We just need to get back to practice.”
San Benito (9-4) will host Salinas Friday for the league opener at Mattson Gym. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
SB 10 3 11 12 2 38
WTM 7 8 18 3 7 43
SB (38) – Aguilera 2-8 2-6 6, Ademek 1-6 0-2 2, Bugarin 1-1 0-0 2, Farias 4-14 0-0 10, Fata 2-11 6-10 10, Halstead 2-10 0-2 4, Zamani 2-5 0-0 4.
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
SB 13 9 7 6 12 47
HBR 10 10 4 11 5 40
SB (47) – Ademek 0 0 2 2, Cabrera 2 0 0 4, Farias 4 0 0 8, Fata 4 1 5 16, Halstead 5 0 2 12, Russell 1 0 0 2, Zamani 1 0 1 3.
