Christopher survived two second-half pushes from Gilroy to upend its rival 45-40 in the opening round of the Mustang Girls Basketball Tournament.
Despite being held to just five points in the second quarter, the Lady Mustangs came roaring back in the third to put a scare into Christopher.
Gilroy scored 19 points out of the half to pull to within 33-32 at the close of the third.
The Cougars behind the shooting of Julia Rodriguez, Christa Arroyo and Jillian Foster came out firing in the fourth to put the margin back up to nine.
“I tell them our motto is going to be intensity and aggression and when displayed that we can compete with anybody,” said Christopher coach Robert Otis.
The defense especially came through, forcing several late turnovers that denied Gilroy a chance to answer back until late in the fourth.
But trailing Christopher 43-34, Gilroy did just that.
The Mustangs’ Maddy Cox, Sarah Wiebe, Jackie Morales and Jasmine Rodriguez helped score points down the stretch to pull Gilroy to within three inside of the final 1:30 of the game.
Arroyo finally put things away on a fast-break layup to put Christopher up by five.
“I think for the most part we’re working hard and giving it our all. I think there are areas where were not all there,” said coach Mitchell Pierce. “A team is a team and if we don’t have everybody it’s not going to work. I’m very proud of the girls, but we’re not all there.”
Pierce said he was impressed with the defensive effort down the stretch, calling it disruptive as the girls went into a full court press that helped to force turnovers and fuel the comeback bid.
“Probably an even earlier adjustment would have been even more timely,” Pierce said. “It really changed the pace of the game and the dynamic of the game.”
Although Gilroy had several great looks down the stretch that could have brought the game in doubt in the final seconds, the shots just didn’t fall, as the Mustangs fell to 0-2 on the young season.
Arroyo led all shooters with 16 points, followed by Rodriguez with 15.
Adina Valencia led Gilroy with 11 points, including a trio of 3s. Cox followed with nine and Morales with eight.
Christopher started slow, as Gilroy jumped out to an 8-5 lead after the first quarter.
But in the second, Christopher got rolling Arroyo took over the game, hitting 10 of her 16 points in the quarter.
After going down 11-9 early in the second, the Cougars rolled on a 15-2 run that stretched into the third quarter.
Otis said it came down to focus and a defense.
“I really think Christa Arroyo and Angel Harper really sparked our turnovers and our pressing efforts. That really was the difference in the game, just getting after them and forcing turnovers,” Otis said.
He also gave credit to Makenzie Barnes for her effort in the first half.
“The first half she really stepped in and played well when I had some girls in foul trouble,” Otis said.
After the game, Pierce said he needed more consistent play out of his entire team rather than just a couple of girls pulling the load.
“If it means we’re all there, but we lose the game, I’m OK with that. But if we’re not all there, we’re not all working to that same level and that same drive, then we’re going to be lacking,” Pierce said. “I feel like that’s the way we were tonight. I’ll say I’m real proud of the girls and they worked super hard tonight.”
Gilroy had a quick turnaround, taking on Santa Cruz Friday in the start of the consolation round of the Mustang Tournament.
Christopher, meanwhile, moved on to play Gunderson in the semifinals.
