Pinto comes through in clutch to secure Gavilan’s 53-51 road
victory over Mission College
SANTA CLARA – Gavilan freshman guard Cynthia Pinto drove the lane and was knocked down to the floor, drawing the foul with six seconds remaining.
At the charity stripe, Pinto made the free throw to give the Lady Rams a 53-51 victory over Mission College on Friday in Santa Clara.
“I am so happy for our players to get this win,” said Gavilan head coach Mike Girardi. “They’ve never given up on anything all year. Tonight’s game was another example of that.”
Sophomore Nicole Donley scored nine of Gavilan’s first 13 points. She finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers despite being the focus of Mission College’s box-and-one defense.
Sophomore Sabrina Murphy led the Lady Rams with 17 points – 15 of those coming in the second half, including seven points in a row. Pinto finished with 14 points; freshman Jen Tremblay scored four; freshmen Lacey Byers and Carolyn Beatty scored two points each.
“We had everyone actively rebounding, especially late in the game,” Girardi said.
The Lady Rams trailed 46-40 with three minutes remaining in the game.
The team’s intense defense then forced Mission into four turnovers in a row, which led to baskets by Pinto and Murphy for Gavilan. After Mission College made a three-point shot to go up 51-48, Murphy hit a 15-foot jump shot in the corner to cut the deficit to 51-50.
With 17 seconds remaining, the Rams fouled to stop the clock and sent Mission’s Martinez to the foul line for a one-and-one situation. Gavilan rebounded the first attempt to set up for Pinto’s last moment heroics.
“This was the epitome of a team win,” Girardi said. “All six players came up with key plays. I’m really excited about these next two weeks of conference play. We can do really well if we consistently make good passes on offense and rebound well on defense. I wouldn’t trade these six girls for anyone.”
Gavilan improves its record to 10-8 overall and 2-4 in Coast Conference North action. The next conference game is at home against Chabot College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Chabot’s record is 9-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
