Gilroy cruises to 50-27 semifinal victory; Meets Notre Dame of
San Jose in Tournament final
By Scott Campbell, Staff Writer
Gilroy – Once the Gilroy Mustangs got going, there was no stopping them.
After a sluggish start to last night’s semifinal of the Mustang Girls Basketball Classic, host Gilroy turned up the heat and emerged with a dominant, 50-27 victory over Watsonville.
The ‘Stangs advanced to tonight’s championship game in which they face Notre Dame-San Jose at 5pm.
“We needed to have a big win,” said ‘Stangs head coach Kari Williams, whose team improved to 3-0. “We’ve had two other wins that were real close, so it was nice to have a little room to work on things.”
With neither team able to find the bottom of the net for nearly three minutes at the outset, the contest appeared to be shaping up to be a low-scoring, defensive affair. As it turned out, while the ‘Stangs’ defense held Watsonville in check the entire night, it was only a matter of time before Gilroy’s offense began to click.
‘Stangs senior forward Jessica Groppe scored five of her 13 points in the first quarter to propel her team a 9-3 lead by period’s end and Gilroy never looked back.
In leading from start to finish, the ‘Stangs also outscored the Wildcatz in each of the four quarters.
“I was happy that we turned it on,” said Williams. “We just stepped it up a gear.”
Gilroy exploited its height advantage by turning to Groppe and Katherine Hussey, who both stand 5’10”. While Groppe controlled the paint at both ends of the floor, Hussey scored eight consecutive points in the second quarter.
“My coach is always telling me to figure out my opponent’s weakness,” said Hussey, a senior swingman who scored a game-high 14 points. “I had a post player playing on me. I realized that she was slower and I took advantage of it.”
With Gilroy’s lead stretching to 20 points midway through the fourth quarter, Williams was able to empty her bench and get all ten players some valuable seasoning. Senior guards Kristen Campos and Marissa Nowakowski chipped in eight and six points, respectively.
Williams was especially pleased with the ‘Stangs’ defensive intensity, led by Groppe and ball-hawking sophomore guard Vanessa Wilkins. Gilroy held Watsonville (3-2) to just nine first-half points.
“They had no inside shots, no inside game really,” said Williams. “I was really impressed with [Groppe’s] help defense.”
Wildcatz’ head coach Annette Guerrero-Baity, while frustrated with her team’s play, was also full of praise for the ‘Stangs.
“I think we had a lot of mental breakdowns, [but] they’re a great team,” said Guerrero-Baity. “They can shoot; they can drive. They do a lot of really good things.”
Guards Jamie Barrera and Laura Gomez both scored eight points to lead Watsonville.
Waiting for Gilroy in the title game is a team the ‘Stangs know from competition in the Oak Grove Summer League.
“They’re very aggressive,” said Hussey of Notre Dame-San Jose. “We can’t come out thinking we have it. We have to come out and show it, prove that we can take it.”
Asked what winning a championship in its own tournament would mean for Gilroy, Groppe said, “It’ll set the tempo for the rest of our season.
“If we pull this one out and we get the win, I think we’ll demand a respect from other teams. It’ll be an intimidation factor, definitely.”
