The Gilroy High School girls basketball team consistently
pounded the offensive boards to hang with the speedy Sobrato
Bulldogs on Wednesday, despite losing 52-41 on the road.
Paul Doherty – staff writer
Morgan Hill
The Gilroy High School girls basketball team consistently pounded the offensive boards to hang with the speedy Sobrato Bulldogs on Wednesday, despite losing 52-41 on the road.
Led by sophomore guard Shealyn Kunze, who finished with a team-high 13 points, the Bulldogs pressed the Mustangs early and often causing four first-quarter turnovers, and jumping to a 14-2 lead.
The Mustangs cut their deficit in half with solid offensive rebounding efforts from Amanda Spellman, Angela Silvera and Chelsea Hill, but trailed 15-7 at the end of the first.
Guard Vanessa Wilkins, who finished with nine points, led the Mustangs comeback in the second quarter recording a steal, two offensive rebounds and four points. As a team Gilroy grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the second quarter, but still trailed the Bulldogs 28-22 at the half.
Hill helped cut the Mustangs deficit to 31-26 two minutes into the second half as she drew a foul in the paint and finished a layup, but she did not hit the free throw.
Hill led the way for the Mustangs with a game-high 14 points.
On their next two possessions Sobrato’s Michelle Bradley quickly knocked down back-to-back jumpshots on her way to 12 points, and the Bulldogs went back to pressing the Mustangs, extending their lead to 45-30 at the end of three.
Sobrato began to crashing the offensive boards in the fourth quarter and, despite putting Gilroy in the bonus, held on for the win.
“Today was a total team effort,” Sobrato head coach Rodney Tabares said. “We’re a little smaller, so we had to rebound as a team against them. Right now we’re just playing really good team basketball.”
The Bulldogs improve to 3-0 heading into their own tournament, the Sobrato Shootout, Dec. 6-8.
“It feels good to be undefeated going into our own tournament, and with the way we’re playing I think we can win it.”
Gilroy head coach James Wilkins said the Mustangs need to go back to the drawing board.
“We tried a few different formations out of fast breaks and transitions, but we didn’t execute at all tonight,” Wilkins said. “We pretty much get second chances (on the boards) every time, but we came into the game apprehensive.”
