GILROY – A 25-point first-half lead doubled by the final horn as
the Gilroy High girls varsity basketball team opened up the 2009-10
season with a 67-17 rout of visiting Watsonville on Tuesday
night.
GILROY – A 25-point first-half lead doubled by the final horn as the Gilroy High girls varsity basketball team opened up the 2009-10 season with a 67-17 rout of visiting Watsonville on Tuesday night.
Paced by senior forward Lindsey Foster’s game-high 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and senior point guard Sovi Nou’s 12 points, all 11 girls saw time on the floor with 10 of them scoring at least two points.
“That set the tone for us,” Foster said.
The Lady Mustangs pushed the pace, dominated on the boards and drove to the basket at will, all the while using a half-court press defense that stifled the Wildcatz throughout – not a bad way to start the season.
“We are out to send a message,” Nou said. “This is a new year, a new season. We need to work on our offense a little bit, but we will get there.”
First-year head coach Tim Jones got a good look at his team in the opener, rotating his players in and out.
The Mustangs built a commanding 20-5 first-quarter lead and didn’t look back.
Allowing six points in the second quarter was the most the Mustangs gave up in any quarter Tuesday as they surrendered just four points in the entire second half.
“We are going to push the ball,” Jones said. “It’s going to be as fast-paced as probably most people around here have seen in a long time. We are going to shoot quickly and then play a lot of pressure defense.”
Senior center Laura Steele pulled down seven rebounds to lead the team and junior Lauren Rhodes dished out four assists to share the team-high with senior Ashley Lambert. Junior Chelsea hill contributed seven points and also had two blocks.
Next up is the annual Mustang Classic with the bracket consisting of last year’s tournament champ Aptos, Saint Francis C.C.C and santa Catalina, among others.
“We are learning all about each other,” Jones said. “It’s a long process. It was a great way to open the season. It was very positive and it’s good to go into the tournament with a win.”
The Mustangs open up the tournament at 8 p.m. on Thursday against King City.
