The Gilroy Mustangs girls basketball team brought its
”
A
”
game to the hardwood in their second game of competition at the
NIKE TOC in Phoenix, Ariz. and the result was a 61-36 romp over
Valley.
The Gilroy Mustangs girls basketball team brought its “A” game to the hardwood in their second game of competition at the NIKE TOC in Phoenix, Ariz. and the result was a 61-36 romp over Valley.
We played real solid, fundamental basketball (Wednesday). I’m really proud of the effort the girls responded with, especially after the overtime loss on Tuesday,” said Keri Williams, the Lady ‘Stangs head coach. “I wouldn’t call that loss a heartbreaker but it certainly stung. Any time you’re tied at the end of regulation like that and don’t win it, it hurts.”
The Lady ‘Stangs, who never trailed in the game, took little time to grab control of the contest. After trading baskets early on Gilroy put a run together that gave them a 13-8 lead after the first quarter.
But it was in the second quarter that the ‘Stangs would deliver the fatal dagger as they outscored Valley 20-3 in the quarter and took a 33-11 lead into the break.
“We really set the tone in that quarter. A lot of our shots started to drop and we played great defense, causing a lot of turnovers and converting them into points on the other end,” Williams said. “Marissa (Nowakowski) and Vanessa (Wilkins) were absolutely all over the place on defense and I’d have to say that Jessica Groppe played her best game ever. It was solid in every facet. She scored 21 points (a game-high), and worked hard on defense.”
“This game was a night and day difference from the effort we put in (Tuesday night),” Williams admitted. “But we need to do better on free throws. We were only 10-for-23 and that’s not acceptable. And it’s not like it’s not a focal point for us, because it is.”
In addition to Groppe who hit 8 field goals and was 5-for-8 from the line the rest of the only other player in double figures for Gilroy was Wilkins who dropped in 13 points. The rest of the ‘Stangs scorers were as follows; Kristen Campos 9, Dana Shoeneman 8, Marissa Nowakowski 4, Amanda Spellman 3 and Katherine Hussey 3.
The ‘Stangs victory earns them a spot in the Consolation Championship game against Torrey Pines today at 12:30pm and Williams expects a war.
“We’re going to have a real battle on our hands (today),” Williams admitted. “They’re good. They’re big, fast and quick but if we play the way we did (Wednesday) we can play against a lot of people and compete. I expect another solid game from our girls.”
