Any chance that the Gilroy girls’ basketball team might have a
hangover after last week’s loss disappeared late in the first
quarter.
Gilroy – Any chance that the Gilroy girls’ basketball team might have a hangover after last week’s loss disappeared late in the first quarter.
And any chance of a relapse was gone long before halftime. Even without defensive pressure, the Mustangs robbed Alvarez blind and won easily for the first time since the season opener, romping 58-22 in a Tri-County Athletic League encounter at Bob Hagen Memorial Gym.
By simply sealing off the passing lanes, Gilroy (11-4 overall, 3-1 TCAL) came away with 23 steals as the Eagles turned the ball over 35 times. Megan McAvoy had a team-high five steals, while Angela Silveira and Dana Schoeneman had four each. Interestingly, none of the three started.
“We were in better position,” said Russhelle Preeshl. “We had people where we needed to have them. We worked on it in practice and it worked.”
Preeshl was almost perfect on offense, making 5-of-6 from the field and 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. The 5-10 senior led the Mustangs with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Alvarez (3-13, 0-5) hung around for six minutes. With leading scorer Chelsea Van Winning scoring three baskets, the Eagles tied the game 9-9 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Preeshl hit two foul shots to ignite a 20-point run that broke the game open and sent Alvarez to its 11th straight defeat. Preeshl had 10 points and two assists in the big run, and Stephanie Solorio had six points. After an Alvarez field goal, Angela Silveira scored two quick buckets in a seven-point run that put GHS in front 36-11.
Gilroy was so dominant in the second quarter that it shot 10 of 16 from the field, outrebounded Alvarez 10-1 and allowed the Eagles only five shots. Van Willing, who came in averaging 11 points, got just one after the first period.
The Mustangs, who hadn’t scored as many as 50 points in any previous game this season, surpassed the half-century mark when Amanda Spellman converted a three-point play with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
“Our mindset tonight was to go in and execute what we practiced the last three days,” GHS coach James Wilkins said. “I was happy to see our younger players step up. It was their first extended action as varsity players. Our juniors and seniors learned watching our subs that they could do some good things in the first half.”
Sophomores Kristy Pineda and Sovi Nou saw more minutes Wednesday than anyone else. In all, Wilkins was able to use 10 girls for at least 10 minutes. Schoeneman scored 11 points.
“It’s nice to get a game like this but it’s better to be in close games,” Preeshl said. “We need to step up when we’re in tight games. It was good that everyone was getting in. We’ll be a deeper team because of it.”
JV: Shalisa Collins had 10 points as Gilroy downed Alvarez 32-25.
Alvarez (22)-Subia 1, L. Estrada 0, S. Estrada 7, Bunch 2, Van Winning 7, Madrid 3, Packwood 0, Perez 0, Oxford 2, Musones 0. Totals 9 3-13 22.
Gilroy (58)-Nou 0, McAvoy 0, Schoeneman 11, A. Spellman 8, L. Spellman 4, Wilkins 2, Solorio 7, Preeshl 18, Silveira 6, Pineda 2. Totals 22 14-21 58.
Alvarez 9 3 4 6 – 22
Gilroy 15 24 15 4 – 58
3-point goal: Alvarez, S. Estrada.
Gilroy’s big men played with a sense of urgency Wednesday night.
Jason Conrad and Spencer Ford both had monster games as the fast-starting Mustangs outpointed Alvarez 83-62 in a Tri-County League game.
“Everyone played hard and everyone played well,” GHS coach Bud Ogden said.
But Conrad and Ford were the unquestioned leaders as the Mustangs moved to 12-6 overall, 2-2 in TCAL.
Conrad, a 6-10 junior, had a season-high 23 points and also pulled down nine rebounds. It was his second big scoring game against the Eagles – Conrad had 17 earlier in the season. Ford easily had his best game in a Gilroy uniform with 15 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three assists. The 6-11 senior also had two dunks.
Conrad had six points as the Mustangs raced in front 18-8 after one quarter. Gilroy was ahead 36-20 at halftime and 54-38 after three quarters. Derek Jensen had 12 points and Kameron Handy added nine for Gilroy.
Harvey Todd had 17 points for the Eagles, but 12 came after halftime after the game had been decided.
It was the second time this season the Mustangs easily handled Alvarez. The first was in the final of the Mustang Classic when Gilroy won 89-50. Interestingly, Jensen had 12 points in that contest as well.
