Again the Gilroy girls basketball team let its opponent come
back in the third quarter. And again, the Mustangs were too strong
in the end to let it hurt them.
Gilroy – Again the Gilroy girls basketball team let its opponent come back in the third quarter. And again, the Mustangs were too strong in the end to let it hurt them.
Fending off a 14-point third quarter run from Salinas Wednesday, the Lady Mustangs came up with their sixth straight victory in by a score of 67-51.
Gilroy senior forward Katherine Hussey, who dropped 30 points on North Salinas Friday, followed that performance up with a game-high 23 points against Salinas.
Sophomore forward Vanessa Wilkins added 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Jessica Groppe finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Gilroy (16-4, 5-0 TCAL) now heads on a 6-game road trip before coming back home for Senior Night against Sobrato Feb. 16.
As has been the trend with Gilroy lately, the Mustangs jumped out to an 11-point lead on the Cowboys (9-10, 2-3 TCAL). Gilroy easily passed through Salinas’ zone press and defense for much of the half, finding open close-range shots.
By the end of the half, the Mustangs had drained 13-of-27 shots from the field for a 34-16 lead.
“I think the first half was incredible. We didn’t even score as much as we could have,” said Gilroy head coach Kari Williams. “We passed around to find the open man. Team-wise, we looked great.”
But in the third quarter, Gilroy allowed Salinas to get back in the game, much like North Salinas had five days earlier. The Cowboys scored 14 unanswered points to cut Gilroy’s 17-point lead to 10.
“I think we get up at halftime and we just kind of go, oh, well, we’re up so we can take a break,” Hussey said, “But we can’t do that.”
Added Williams, “We missed some shots or something else happened. But we can’t get tense from that…We looked like we were protecting the lead.”
Or, “playing not to lose, instead of playing to win” as the coach also put it.
But Hussey’s offensive firepower helped snap Gilroy out of its funk. The senior stepped up and hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the third quarter to give the Mustangs a 44-36 lead. Hussey opened the fourth quarter with a lay-up and another three to give Gilroy 13 points worth of breathing room.
“I had tried to drive a couple times,” Hussey said. “But then it opened up and I said ‘OK, I’ll just shoot.'”
Gilroy plays next at Sobrato Friday at 5:30pm. After that, the Lady Mustangs will play its entire second half of the TCAL schedule (except for the second Sobrato game) on the road.
For as commanding as Gilroy has been at home, Williams knows the Mustangs will have to continue that trend – if not improve on it – for the rest of league play.
“A game you would win by 15 at home you’ll only win by five at home,” she said.
GHS Freshman Girls Win Nail-biter
The Gilroy freshman girls basketball team defeated Salinas 33-30 in a close contest Wednesday evening.
“Tough pressure defense kept us in this game,” said Gilroy freshman coach Melissa Noto. “Kristen Vonderwerth worked especially hard on the press.”
Leading the Mustangs was Laura Spellman, who had 17 points and went 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Kristy Pineda (5 points) and Rebekah Komar (4 points) also contributed.
