Girls’ basketball takes shootout
In this case, it wasn’t necessarily about the finish, but the
start of the game that may have been the difference.
The Miramonte girls basketball team jumped out to a 9-0 lead to
open the Presentation Shootout against San Benito on Saturday.
While the Lady Balers managed to settle down, outscoring the
Matadors for the remainder of the first quarter and even the game,
the 9-0 start was enough as Miramonte staved off San Benito in the
end, 47-42.
Girls’ basketball takes shootout
In this case, it wasn’t necessarily about the finish, but the start of the game that may have been the difference.
The Miramonte girls basketball team jumped out to a 9-0 lead to open the Presentation Shootout against San Benito on Saturday. While the Lady Balers managed to settle down, outscoring the Matadors for the remainder of the first quarter and even the game, the 9-0 start was enough as Miramonte staved off San Benito in the end, 47-42.
Baler Vanessa Farias led the team with 15 points, while teammate Megan Halstead added 10 points and Vanessa Casalegno had seven.
The Lady Balers are now 4-3 overall.
“We just came out really flat,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “We just weren’t in any rhythm and we couldn’t get any offensive rebounds.”
Miramonte’s 6-foot-4 center Stephanie Golden, who had 15 points for the Orinda school Saturday, did most of her damage under the glass, Kaplansky said, and supplied the Matadors with frequent second and third chance scoring opportunities early on.
“We had a hard time stopping their big girl,” Kaplansky said of Golden. “She was getting a lot of rebounds. We had to put two bodies on her just to keep her off the glass.”
After Miramonte’s 9-0 start, San Benito pocketed a couple easy layups, found a rhythm and outscored the Matadors 6-3 for the remainder of the quarter.
Kaplansky challenged his team at halftime, feeling the Lady Balers could up the level of enthusiasm in the third and fourth quarters, and San Benito opened the second half on a 6-0 run. Over the second, third and fourth quarters, San Benito actually outscored Miramonte 36-35, but free throws kept the Matadors afloat late in the game.
“This was our true measuring stick,” Kaplansky said. “They were a tough opponent with tough athletes, and we were right there at the end of the game to win.
“Once we started getting into that rhythm of up and down and making layups, it gave us the momentum to get back in the game.”
The invite-only shootout welcomed teams such as Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland and Kennedy High of Sacramento.
San Benito’s game at home to Harbor on Tuesday was after The Pinnacle’s press time.
Boys’ basketball
Motivation may have been lacking.
After previously dispatching Watsonville by 52 points at the Seascape Classic in Aptos earlier this season, the San Benito boys basketball team welcomed the Wildcatz to Hollister’s Mattson Gym Saturday for a non-conference, non-tournament match-up.
And although the Balers weren’t 52-point favorites the second time around, they did manage to lead early and often en route to a 60-43 win.
San Benito, which held leads of 12-9 after the first quarter and 29-17 at halftime, improves to 5-4 overall.
While the Haybalers recently routed Watsonville 75-23 at the Aptos tournament on Dec. 6, though, San Benito head coach John Becerra said he’d like to see his team come into each game with the same determination, no matter the opponent.
“I thought we could have done better,” Becerra said of Saturday’s win. “I think we need to be more motivated with whoever we are playing. We need to go out there and execute.”
Eric Elayda led San Benito with 15 points and two assists, while Dominic Zanella had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Kyle Vallejo had eight points and teammate Tyler Rickard had seven behind 3 of 4 shooting from the free throw line.
San Benito’s game on the road at Monterey Tuesday was after The Pinnacle’s press time.
