Girls’ basketball squad looks dominant in early going in the
Central Coast Section
Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, the Gilroy High
girls’ basketball team appears ready to walk down the aisle this
year as it chases a Central Coast Section title.
Two years ago the Mustangs lost to Salinas in the CCS finals and
last year Gilroy succumbed to Wilcox in the semifinals. But after
watching the way they methodically dismantled San Benito High 62-36
in the Tri County Athletic League opener last week, it appears that
2006 could be the year of the Mustangs.
Girls’ basketball squad looks dominant in early going in the Central Coast Section
Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, the Gilroy High girls’ basketball team appears ready to walk down the aisle this year as it chases a Central Coast Section title.
Two years ago the Mustangs lost to Salinas in the CCS finals and last year Gilroy succumbed to Wilcox in the semifinals. But after watching the way they methodically dismantled San Benito High 62-36 in the Tri County Athletic League opener last week, it appears that 2006 could be the year of the Mustangs.
“I’d like to be (the bride),” said Gilroy High Coach Kari Williams when asked if this was going to be her team’s year. “Everything seems to be coming together right now more and more, and we’re getting better and better – both offensively and defensively.”
Proof of that is in the standings sheet. The Mustangs in their first two league games against the Balers and Alisal High put up more than 60 points of offense in each game while allowing less than 40.
The Mustangs are getting it done on the court with a core group of experienced seniors that can play both ends of the floor.
Things Gilroy High has no control over are also going well.
For the past three seasons, the unbeatable team in the TCAL has been Notre Dame. Up until this season the Spirits were a perfect 30-0 in league play, but after losing a slew of senior players and losing to Live Oak in their league opener, it appears that Gilroy is in the driver’s seat to dethrone the perennial powerhouse in the race for a league title.
“They’ve had great teams for the last few years,” said Williams. “I have three seniors this year that started for three years with me and three others with substantial playing time. They understand that it’s now or never. And I have two juniors and a sophomore that played field hockey and lost in the CCS playoffs. They are equally as motivated.”
Against San Benito, the Mustangs jumped out to a 10-point lead in the opening quarter and never looked back. By halftime, Gilroy High led the Balers 29-18 and continued to build on that led as the game progressed.
Leading the way for Gilroy High was senior Katherine Hussey, who had a 14-point effort that included a three-pointer. Gilroy’s Jessica Groppe scored 11 in the winning effort and Marissa Nowakowski had 10.
Although Gilroy had the roster advantage, the Balers were supposed to have home-court advantage in the game, but it was moved to Gilroy just hours before the tip-off because of a faulty scoreboard at San Benito High.
Despite minimal time to notify its fans of the switch in venue, Gilroy High had a large crowd for the league opener that was loud enough to rattle the inexperienced Balers for most of the game.
“I knew they were good,” said San Benito High coach Al Rowe. “This is their year. They have a lot of returning girls. We’re a young team and it was hard to execute our game plan against them.”
The Balers objective heading into the showdown with Gilroy was to push the ball up the court and fast break the Mustangs to the three-point line. There, they would take the shot with the cutter coming up so that the lanes would be full for a dish-off option play, Rowe said.
“We never ran it,” said Rowe, who has a roster that includes three freshman and four sophomores. “We were nervous but we played tremendous defense in the first half.”
In addition to the challenge of playing first-place Gilroy in the league opener, the Balers had to take the court without their top defender, Simone Baker, who was nursing an ankle injury, and center Ali Sharp, who couldn’t play because of a family commitment.
Without Sharp working the paint and Simone slowing down the Gilroy offense, the Balers struggled to score and control the ball – and wound up committing 30 turnovers in the lopsided contest.
With the loss of nine seniors last season and only having two returning players this season, it is a difficult task for the first-year coach to get the ball rolling – and it’s difficult for the experienced players.
“The loss of the seniors did hurt us. What we need is for the younger girls to step up. It’s just taking some time because the new girls have to learn how a varsity team plays.” said Baler senior Ari Romero. “All we really need is to glue together as a team and put our head in the game.”
“Gilroy is a tough team to play; it’s their year,” said the Balers’ other senior Ashley Patton.
Despite the lack of experience, the Balers were at the .500 mark with a 6-6 record heading into the showdown with the Mustangs – and they had played only one game at home the entire preseason.
“I called a practice on Saturday after the game,” said Rowe, who was looking for ways to turn things around. “Every team that we face we scout them, watch them on film and develop a game plan for each team. We just couldn’t execute. Gilroy works well as a team and gels together. That’s what we need to do.
“We had the new control box shipped for the scoreboard on Monday so we’ll start playing some home games again,” Rowe said. “We’re looking forward to it but sometimes too it can be harder playing in front of friends, boyfriends and family members.”
The Balers leading scorer was against Gilroy was freshman Vanessa Farias, who left the game with seven points.
Sunday Pinnacle sports correspondent Huston Morse contributed to this report.
