Gilroy tough down stretch in 43-36 win
Pacific Grove – Gilroy’s offense is still a work in progress.
On Friday, the Mustangs finally showed the type of progress that will bode well for the future.
The passing still wasn’t crisp, but the ball movement and sets were more what coach James Wilkins wants. It was enough to carry Gilroy to a 43-36 win over Pacific Grove in the 19th annual Breakers Classic.
The Mustangs (5-1) face Hilmar at 6pm today in the second round of the round-robin event.
Gilroy’s offense ran through Dana Schoeneman, who shot 7-of-12 and had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. While Vanessa Wilkins had a big game with 15 points and seven steals, the roles assumed by the other girls loomed large as well.
Angela Silveria had four second-half assists, working the ball each time into Schoeneman.
“She was always open,” Silveria said.
Silveria and Russhelle Preeshl each grabbed five second-half rebounds when the Mustangs controlled the boards by a 23-12 margin. And Laura Spellman shot 4-of-4 at the foul line in the last 28 seconds to blunt any hope the Breakers (2-2) had of coming back.
“That was our best game offensive-wise so far this season,” Schoeneman said. “We practiced it a lot and got it down. Instead of taking the first shot we saw, we were waiting until we got an open shot.”
If there was one negative, it was 17 turnovers against a team that wasn’t using pressure defense. The Mustangs bogged down during a stretch in the first half. Pacific Grove used a nine-point run to turn a four-point deficit into a 15-10 lead.
Instead of panicking, GHS tightened its zone defense and scored five unanswered points. The Mustangs extended a 20-19 lead to 28-22 three minutes into the second half before a Sara Daniels trey and Gwynne McCay three-point play tied the contest. After Daniels hit another trey for a 31-30 lead, Wilkins launched a shot from just past halfcourt that swished in to put GHS ahead 33-31 after three quarters.
The Mustangs never relinquished the lead, holding the Breakers to Deborah Kim’s trey until the final five seconds.
“We started out a little sluggish,” coach Wilkins said. “We were thinking too much rather than reacting. The girls seemed a little tense.
“But I saw a lot of positives. Our defense was excellent in the fourth quarter. We noticed they were spotting up three of their best shooters around the perimeter.”
So Wilkins extended the zone to the 3-point line. Vanessa Wilkins, Spellman and Silveria kept a hand in the shooters’ faces. And Schoeneman made certain that McCay (13 points) wasn’t able to get looks down low.
“We’ve been working a lot on our help side defense,” Schoeneman said. “We were slowing their players down and waiting for the help to come.”
Despite the disparity in individual scoring, the help seemed to come from each of the Mustangs at one time or another.
Gilroy (43) – Tabilas 0, Schoeneman 17, L. Spellman 6, Wilkins 15, Solorio 0, McAvoy 0, Preeshl 2, Silveria 3, Magill 0. Totals 17 8-14 43.
Pacific Grove (36) – Kim 6, Gibson 0, Daniels 6, Longueira 1, Young 10, Hardee 0, McCay 13. Totals 14 4-9 36.
Gilroy 10 10 13 10 – 43
Pacific Grove 11 8 12 5 – 36
3-point goals: Gil, Wilkins. PG, Kim 2, Daniels 2.
