Lady Mustang hoops finish with 1-2 record in Pacific Grove
Invite
PACIFIC GROVE – The early season has not been a kind one to the Gilroy High girls basketball team – which was once again plagued by injuries and illness for the Pacific Grove Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
After opening with a 54-42 victory over host Pacific Grove, the reigning tournament champions dropped back-to-back games against Seaside, 60-47, and then Hilmore, of Modesto, 57-37.
“We’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries. It has been a good learning experience,” said second-year head coach Kari Williams, who suited up only eight players for the tournament. “The good thing is we’re only going to get better. There’s only one way to go from here.”
Gilroy is now 2-5 on the season with identical 1-2 records in the Lady Mustang Classic and the Pacific Grove Tournament as well as an opening non-league road loss to Andrew Hill.
But panic has not set in since the Lady Mustangs, a top preseason contender for the league title, were without four key players over the weekend. Senior center Sarah Hoeft, who has yet to play for Gilroy, has been battling a hamstring strain and a lower back problem. Senior guard Sarah Miller is at “70 percent” after sitting out the Lady Mustang Classic with the flu and also dealing with a nagging knee injury.
Sophomore point guard Kristen Campos was hit with the flu and did not play in the Pacific Grove Tournament, while sophomore guard Marissa Nowakowski injured her shoulder against Seaside and sat out against Hilmore. Junior forward Heather Link was brought up from the junior varsity team to fill a roster spot.
“We’re just like an injured ship trying to stay afloat until we can right the sail,” said Williams, who expects to have all 11 players back in practice this week for the first time.
Junior forward Kendall Costa broke out for a season-high 14 points in the Lady Mustangs’ opening win over Pacific Grove. Senior center Antoinette Okere and sophomore forward Catherine Hussey added nine points apiece in the winning effort.
But the Lady Mustangs could not match that performance in their 13-point loss to Seaside. Gilroy played from behind and cut the gap to 45-41 before allowing Seaside to pull away late.
“We just couldn’t get it done and I think with a full team it would have been a different story for us,” Williams said. “We’re still making young mistakes.”
Gilroy – which will compete in the Burlingame Tournament on Dec. 17-19 – closed out the tournament with a 20-point defeat at the hands of Hilmore.
“We did a lot of good things, too,” Williams said. “We had moments of good basketball, but it was not enough to make up for the 30-plus turnovers we had in each game.”
Coach Williams took the team to the Stanford University women’s basketball team’s home game against Tennessee for some inspiration. The Lady Cardinal lost in overtime to the Lady Vols, but the garlic hoopsters watched two top college programs bump heads.
“It was a great game,” Williams said.
