GILROY – The Lady Cougars held a five-point lead heading into
the fourth quarter but couldn’t thwart a Baler comeback in a tough
30-24 loss Tuesday night.
GILROY – With a stingy defense, the Christopher High girls junior varsity basketball team held the visiting San Benito Haybalers to just nine points through the first 23 minutes and 9 seconds, building a 19-9 lead with the clock winding down in the third quarter.
But a San Benito 5-0 run to close out the third carried over to a fateful fourth quarter as the Lady Cougars couldn’t contain the Balers any longer in a 30-24 loss Tuesday night.
Head coach Heather Stewart called it a “tough and bitter” loss as her Lady Cougars saw their advantage slip away.
CHS led much of the way, opening up a 16-7 halftime cushion.
With the score 9-5 midway through the second quarter, freshman Nadine Filippi came up with a steal at half court and coasted to the bucket for an easy layup. On their next possession, Angelica Carillo drained a deep 2-pointer to extend the Lady Cougars’ lead to 15-5.
Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the third quarter as each struggled with turnovers. However, after a Haylee Peterson bank-shot from short range put the game at 19-9, the Balers struck for their 5-0 run.
Tied 22-22 with 1:30 remaining, the Balers outscored the Lady Cougars 8-2 down the stretch to secure the win.
CHS bounces back into action at home against Scotts Valley on Thursday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
