Mustangs slip past Mount Pleasant 42-40
Gilroy – The post-Mustang Classic blues seemed to afflict the Gilroy girls’ basketball team Tuesday.
If there was good news for the Mustangs it was that they found a way to beat Mount Pleasant, 42-40, at Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium. And yet watching them leave the floor after the game, it wasn’t evident on their faces.
“A sloppy game,” coach James Wilkins said. “I didn’t like that one. We’re trying to work the girls into more offensive consistency. We worked on our shooting during practice. At times we were good on offense, but it wasn’t sustained.”
Gilroy (4-1) had nine more shots and 17 more rebounds than the Cardinals (0-3). The Mustangs led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.
Nevertheless, Mount Pleasant had a chance to pull the game out when Sarah Dagnino launched a last-second shot from near midcourt. The ball was on line but came up just short.
GHS struggled at the beginning and the end offensively. And yet in the middle quarters the Mustangs ran their offensive sets well and scored 15 points in each frame.
Down 12-10 after a trey by Amanda Rivas early in the second quarter, the Mustangs responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points. A 23-16 halftime advantage swelled to 33-20 midway through the third quarter before the offense virtually shut down for the rest of the game.
GHS still had an 11-point lead (40-29) when Dana Schoeneman scored off of Vanessa Wilkins’ fifth assist with 4:59 left. But the only points scored the rest of the way were when Russhelle Preeshl scored on a fastbreak with 1:17 remaining.
“We had no sense of urgency until the end of the third quarter,” said Cardinals’ coach Celina Juico, who dressed just eight girls because of injury and academic woes. “We were giving the ball away in the second and third quarter with way too many turnovers. If we stay composed, we’re going to be fine.”
One aspect of the game that the Cardinals were solid was at the foul line where they made 8-of-9 shots. Dagnino led Mount Pleasant with 18 points and Sam McCluskey added 11.
Angela Silveria was the one Mustang who shot well, hitting 6-of-12 from the field en route to a team-high 12 points. The rest of the team shot 13-of-44. Dana Schoeneman scored 11 points and had 16 rebounds for Gilroy.
“We’re trying out new positions and maybe it’s been too fast too soon,” said Wilkins, who’s down to nine girls as Amanda Spellman recuperates from an ankle injury. “We need to be more aggressive. When we have a hand on the ball, we can’t let opponents take it away.”
At least the Mustangs didn’t let the Cardinals take Tuesday’s game away from them.
JV: The Gilroy junior varsity was also in a close encounter, holding off Mount Pleasant 29-28. Breanna Mah paced the Mustangs (4-1) with nine points.
Mount Pleasant (40)-Baraceros 2, Flores 0, Rivas 7, Dagnino 18, Allen 0, Coleto 2, Alvarez 0, McCluskey 11. Totals 15 8-9 40.
Gilroy (42)-Tabilas 0, McAvoy 2, Schoeneman 11, L. Spellman 2, Wilkins 6, Solorio 3, Preeshl 6, Silveria 12, Magill o. Totals 19 4-8 42.
Mount Pleasant 9 7 12 12 – 40
Gilroy 8 15 15 4 – 42
3-point goals: MP, Rivas, Dagnino.
