The Gilroy High girls basketball team rebounded from a loss to Notre Dame earlier in the week with a 58-38 victory over visiting North Salinas in the first game of a doubleheader on Homecoming night Friday.
“We have come a long ways, and we weren’t going to let one loss affect us,” said senior Michelle DiFiore, who had six points. “We still have our goals. We are just going to use it to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Mustangs were led by Amanda Link, who continually created mismatches with her size in the post to score a game-high 21 points.
North Salinas (10-13, 1-7 TCAL) was ahead just briefly at the beginning of the game, but still managed to close to within 28-19 at the half.
But Gilroy (16-9, 5-3 TCAL) pulled away with full-court pressure and good ball movement.
“All 11 players played,” said GHS head coach Kari Williams. “It was a team effort. We made them shoot outside a lot. We still were able to create turnovers without pressuring them.”
North Salinas coach Darren Jackson credited a young team – two freshmen cracked the starting lineup – and a lack of bench strength in the loss, but credited Gilroy for not giving up.
“Gilroy was working together well as a team,” Jackson said. “They were able to stay focused throughout.”
The Mustangs went on at 13-3 run in the second quarter before the Vikings scored a pair of field goals in the final minute.
Three minutes before halftime, Gilroy’s Kendall Costa drew a charge and made her first free throw. She missed the second, but Link was there for the rebound. She fed Costa for the basket to put the Mustangs up 22-14.
In the fourth quarter, Gilroy’s Kristen Campos had a steal and finish on the other side of the court to help the Mustangs start off the quarter on an 8-0 run.
Gilroy has two more games remaining before the Central Coast Section playoffs begin – against Live Oak Tuesday and against Salinas on Thursday on Senior Night.
Gilroy 15 13 11 19–58
North Salinas 12 7 9 10–38
G – Mancera 1 1-2 3, Nowakowski 1 0-2 2, Costa 1 2-4 4, 1 0-0 2, Radtke 1 0-0 2, DiFiori 3 0-0 6, Hussey 3 2-2 8, Groppe 3 2-2 8, Link 9 3-7, 21, Campos 3 1-2 8, Logan 1 0-0 2.
NS – Caco 1 0-0 2, Gonzales 1 0-0 2, Hernandez 2 1-2 5, Sanchez 2 0-0 4, Martinez 7 3-5-19, McGriff 1 0-0 2, Fleming 1 2-4 4.
3-pointers: NS – Martinez (2). G – Campos.
