SAN JOSE
–– The Haybalers have played Salinas three times this year, and
three times the game has been close before Salinas pulled away.
SAN JOSE –– The Haybalers have played Salinas three times this year, and three times the game has been close before Salinas pulled away.
No. 2 Salinas (18-9) defeated the third seeded San Benito girls basketball team 60-54 in the Central Coast Section Division 1 semifinals Wednesday at Leland High School.
Salinas will play league rival Gilroy for the section championship Saturday. The Mustangs, seeded fifth, knocked off Alisal 64-42. San Benito finishes up its season at 19-10.
“We didn’t get as good of bracket as Gilroy got,” said Baler coach Tom Dean. “The Mustangs won’t be able to matchup. Salinas will win the championship.”
The Balers once again were able to hold a sizeable lead at halftime but couldn’t handle Salinas’ pressure. Numerous turnovers resulted in easy buckets for the Cowboys.
“That’s the bottom line – we just didn’t handle the pressure well,” Dean said. “I kept telling the girls not to be in a big rush to get to the ball and throw it in. We’ve been practicing that all week. If we can’t control the ball, we don’t deserve to win.”
Jaime Hall, who was limited to just four points, was in foul trouble most of the game. She fouled out with about three minutes left.
“We weren’t able to get any shots from the post which really hurt us,” Dean said.
Trisha Lee led the Balers in scoring with 23 points. She had several possessions where she would take the ball down the court and then score the basket.
North Salinas’ Rebekah Fales scored a season-high of 35 points, more than doubling her average points per game.
“It was a different team that we watched on Saturday,” said Salinas coach Alan Takemura. “They might have been a little nervous. But the Balers came ready to play. They got us flustrated in the first half.”
San Benito was up 30-19 at halftime. But Salinas turned up the pressure.
Before long, after two consecutive inbound steals, the Cowboys were able to take a 32-31 lead.
But the quick-pressure strategy almost backfired for the Cowboys.
With three minutes left in the third, the Cowboys had committed seven fouls to San Benito’s one.
The Balers had several possessions where they were fouled on the inbound and then walked to the other end for free throws.
At the end of the third quarter, San Benito held a 43-41 advantage.
Salinas went up 54-49 after back-to-back three pointers in the fourth quarter.
The Balers got within two points twice in the final minutes but couldn’t get any closer.
“We got a young team coming back next year,” Dean said. “We’ve set the standard. Now we have to take it to the next level.”
San Benito 13 17 13 11––54
Salinas 10 9 22 19 ––60
San Benito: Andrewson 0 4-4 4, Flores 0 5-6 5, Temperino 3 2-5 8, Lee 8 5-9 23, Schiwek 2 0-0 4, Wilson 2 2-4 6, Hall 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 18-28 54.
Salinas: Oxford 1 1-2 3, Martinez 2 0-4 2, Morris 0 0-2 0, R. Fales 12 8-10 35, Sempek 0 1-2 1, Harney 2 0-2 5, Azevedo 3 3-6 7, A. Fales 2 0-1 5. Totals 21 13-29 60.
3-point goals: SB-Lee. S-R. Fales (2), Harney, A. Fales.
