GHS wins first game in Mustang Classic
Gilroy – With Gilroy stagnant offensively and defensively, the Mustangs were in need of a lift.
They got it off the bench from Angela Silveria in the second quarter. With the junior forward providing the impetus during a finishing 16-1 second-quarter run, Gilroy downed North Monterey County 45-32 Thursday in the opening round of the 22nd Mustang Classic.
The win lifts GHS (2-0) into the 8pm semifinal today against Notre Dame-San Jose. The Regents pulled away from Watsonville in the third quarter in a 36-27 victory.
The other semifinal at 6:30pm pits St. Francis against Gunderson. The Sharks turned back Aptos 41-27 in the opener. The Grizzlies got five treys and 18 points from Clarissa Diaz and edged Notre Dame-Salinas 41-39.
Silveria had seven points and seven rebounds during the decisive second quarter when Gilroy erased a 13-9 deficit. The run put the Mustangs ahead 25-14 at halftime. The Condors (1-3) never got closer than five points in the second half.
Silveria had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four steals for the Mustangs. Rushelle Preeshl was the only other GHS player in double figures with 10. But the Mustangs ruled the backboards by a 60-21 advantage. Dana Schoeneman led the way with 14 rebounds. Vanessa Wilkins had 10 rebounds and four assists.
The rebounding advantage plus tight man-to-man defense helped the Mustangs overcome a difficult evening shooting. Gilroy was 16-of-51 shooting. North Monterey County also struggled, shooting 12-of-43.
GHS got off to a good start as Wilkins hit a trey and Schoeneman a follow for a 5-0 lead. But Janet Jara had all seven of her points as the Condors jumped ahead 7-5.
Jasmine Salazar and Kelsey Delgado teamed for a six-point run to open the second quarter giving NMC its biggest lead of the game at 13-9. But the Condors scored just one point the rest of the quarter.
For the first time in six years, the Mustangs were defending champions of the tournament. And yet, most of these girls were junior varsity members a year ago. The good news part is that GHS won the junior varsity tournament last year, too.
The 2005-06 season represented a breakthrough for the Mustangs as they defeated ND-Salinas three times. Nobody around Gilroy could remember the last time that happened in a season.
“There’s always been a certain mystique around Notre Dame in girls’ basketball much like there is with Palma in football,” said athletic director Jack Daley, who’s been around 16 of the 22 Mustang Classics. “That was a good win for them. It was good for Kristen (Campos) and Melissa (Nowakowski) to finish (champions) as seniors. I believe that was the first time our girls beat Notre Dame while they were here.”
Of course, last year was a magical year for the Mustangs, who finished 23-4. How this year’s team fares will begin to play out before they open Tri-County Athletic League play.
