Experiencing their own form of
”
Selection Sunday,
”
Gilroy High’s varsity girls basketball players had reason to
celebrate. It’s not often that a team with a sub-.500 record
(11-13) gets into the postseason, let alone receives a home
game.
Experiencing their own form of “Selection Sunday,” Gilroy High’s varsity girls basketball players had reason to celebrate.
It’s not often that a team with a sub-.500 record (11-13) gets into the postseason, let alone receives a home game.
But that’s exactly the case for Gilroy, which will host Watsonville (18-7), who defeated Salinas 39-33, Thursday at 7 p.m. in the second round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
After losing their last two games by a combined five points – a 41-40 loss at Salinas Tuesday and a 44-40 defeat at home to Alisal Friday – none of the Mustangs were thinking playoffs were possible. The four-point defeat to Alisal on Senior Night, in particular, where the Mustangs ran out of gas in a second-half comeback, looked like the end of the road.
“I think the girls really didn’t understand the importance of that ballgame until after it was over,” Gilroy coach James Wilkins said. “They did (think they were eliminated). And frankly, I didn’t encourage them to hope.”
But a panel of 16 coaches at the CCS selection meeting took notice of the Mustangs’ strength of schedule, as well as several key victories.
“The fact that San Benito went second (in the seedings) and North Salinas went fourth – we beat North Salinas and we played San Benito well, losing our last contest by six points – and then we beat a very, very good team (in) Watsonville,” Wilkins said. “That was a real kicker.”
Five schools from the Tri-County Athletic League (Gilroy, San Benito, Salinas, North Salinas and Alisal) are in the Division I bracket, with Notre Dame taking the six-seed in Division IV and Alvarez being the only TCAL school not to qualify for the postseason.
According to Wilkins, Watsonville wasn’t pleased that it would have to win a first-round contest just to have the right to play Gilroy, in Gilroy.
“They’re coming out angry. I know that,” he said.
The Salinas Cowboys, in contrast, are closer to Gilroy in terms of a sense of relief to be in the playoffs. The Cowboys will be getting two of their top players back from injury, which could make them a dangerous bunch if they overcome Watsonville.
“They had two players who were injured who I know could have helped them dramatically,” Wilkins said.
Gilroy, which won a first-round home playoff game 40-38 over Homestead last season before falling to Carlmont in the second round, can’t become overly confident just because it will be playing at home, according to Wilkins.
“For a lot of teams, [playing at home] is huge,” the coach said. “For us, I think it’s a drawback. We played pretty good on the road. There’s a lot of distractions at home for our girls and I want them to put all that aside. Parents, friends, being on school grounds – somehow we need to block all of this out and play like we’re on the road.”
If the Mustangs were to win, they would face rival San Benito in a third-round game at Milpitas High. Wilkins says that is something he hasn’t even bothered to worry about yet.
“I think my first thing is not to even mention the second round,” he said. “We need to prepare like this will be the last game we ever play.
“We’ve been given a golden opportunity and we have to run with it.”
Varsity Note:
Gilroy’s Angela Silveira finished as the leading scorer in Friday’s game against Alisal with 18 points to go with six rebounds and four blocks. Vanessa Wilkins was second on the team with 10 points.
Mustangs freshman forward Chelsea Hill collected a game-high 19 rebounds to go with four blocks and three points and Gilroy senior forward Lindsey Foster had eight points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Junior Varsity Note:
Gilroy’s junior varsity girls basketball team finished its outstanding season on a strong note, winning a thriller over Salinas 42-41 Tuesday and then capping the year off with a 44-23 blowout victory over Alisal.
The Mustangs ended the season with a 17-3 record overall, 11-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League to take the league title.
Gilroy’s high scorer against Salinas was Alana Osaki with 12 points. Angel Senior contributed 10 points for the Mustangs and Laura Steele had six.
Gilroy’s high scorers against Alisal were Laura Steele (12), Sovi Nou (6) and Senior (6).
