Teams could find themselves in deep water if they try to test
the depth of Gilroy’s varsity girls basketball team this
season.
Teams could find themselves in deep water if they try to test the depth of Gilroy’s varsity girls basketball team this season.
With a rotation expected to include 10 players, Mustangs Head Coach James Wilkins thinks he has the horses to run people ragged, and improve on last season’s second-place finish in the Tri-County Athletic League and second-round showing in the Central Coast Section playoffs .
“I believe we’re better this year because we’re deeper, and I believe we’re more athletic than last year’s team,” Wilkins said. “Now, I’m not going to go out on a limb to say were going to win [league]. I won’t say that. Coaches better not say that. But we will be competitive.”
Part of the reason for the GHS coach’s optimism is the team returns its second and third leading scorers from a year ago, point guard Vanessa Wilkins (7.7 points per game) – an All-TCAL selection in 2006-’07 – and forward Angela Silveira (8 ppg).
Senior guard Stephanie Solario will also share responsibilities with Vanessa Wilkins as a ballhandler.
“(Solario) has picked it up a lot since summer league and shown a lot of leadership,” Coach Wilkins said.
With a group of girls that all have relatively good size for the high school level, the coach said his squad should be versatile in the way they defend opponents.
“Traditionally, we have a pretty good zone defense,” Wilkins said. “But our girls – this year – we would like to switch off from zone to man-to-man to keep teams on their toes.
“And us on our toes,” he added.
A couple players that could surprise opponents are freshman Chelsea Hill and sophomore Sovi Nou. Nou played sparingly as a freshman on varsity last year, as coaches wanted to see how she would respond to the competition. Her role will be expanded this season.
Hill, a standout water polo player in the fall, will earn her second varsity letter while battling between the boxes on the inside. At 6-feet-tall, she will often be fighting for rebounds with other post players.
On the wings, senior Amanda Spellman and Lindsey Foster will be expected to fill the lanes on the fast break while also picking up the opponents’ best athletes on defense.
One player that will not be with the team this year is junior guard Laura Spellman, who has decided to focus on field hockey full time.
Still, the strength of the team will be its ability to not miss a beat when starters come off the floor.
“We’re a stronger bench this year, I think this is the strongest bench I’ve encountered since I’ve been at the high school,” Wilkins said. “We’re young, but we do have girls that can run the floor. And I think looking at the big picture, it’s best to have a deeper bench towards the end of the season.”
The depth of the team have a tough test early, as Gilroy plays host of the Mustang Classic starting today. In an unusual situation, the varsity team will be split into two squads after a school withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday.
One team will play North Monterey County High School at 3:30 p.m. while another will face Watsonville at 8 p.m.
