Gilroy dominated every aspect of its final home game of the
season Thursday night, beating the Watsonville Wildcatz in a
second-round Central Coast Section Division I contest 67-32. The
Musatngs will now play San Benito Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at Milpitas
High School.
Timing is everything, and Gilroy High’s varsity girls basketball team picked a perfect time to play its best game of the season Thursday night.
Taking on the Watsonville Wildcatz in a second-round Central Coast Section Division I contest, Gilroy dominated every aspect of its final home game of the season, winning 67-32.
For a team that limped into the playoffs after losing its last two games of the regular season, the Mustangs (12-13) looked like a top seed, coming out composed on offense and tenacious on defense.’
“Tonight we played smart and for the most part made good decisions,” Gilroy coach James Wilkins said. “We talked in the dressing room (before the game) about playing with patience, endurance and heart.
“I’m so proud of them that we’re going to practice Friday.”
Gilroy had a 14-5 advantage after the first quarter through the use of a full-court trap on defense, and kept up the pressure during the second quarter to end up leading 27-19 at halftime. Watsonville, which sat back in a halfcourt man-to-man defense in the first two periods, tried to counter coming out of the intermission through a full-court press of its own. But the tactic only served to let the Mustangs run wild as Gilroy limited its turnovers and often made the extra pass to get easy buckets. Gilroy outscored the Wildcatz 18-8 in the third period and 22-5 in the fourth.
The margin of victory came as a shock to Wilkins.
“Not even a clue,” the coach said, referring to how he thought his team would perform coming into the game. “I was hoping the game would be close, that we would stay close.”
The Mustangs will now get up close and personal with their bitter rivals, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers, in a third-round contest Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at Milpitas High School.
Angela Silveira was the leading scorer for the Mustangs with 19 points to go with eight rebounds, and three blocks, Vanessa Wilkins had 18 points along with six assists, and Lindsey Foster pitched in 13 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Gilroy outrebounded Watsonville 34-14 and also had 14 assists to the Wildcatz two.
The win also featured some new talent that hadn’t been seen on the varsity level this season. Brought up from the freshman squad for the playoffs, point guard Ashley Lampert was excellent as a distributor, controlling the tempo while also playing stingy defense. She finished the contest with two points and two assists.
Chelsea Hill had a strong game despite being limited by foul trouble, scoring seven points and snatching five rebounds. Other scorers for GHS included Stephanie Solorio (four points), Jennifer Rose (two) and Breanna Mah (two).
Watsonville’s leading scorer was Annette Ruvalcaba, who finished with 20 points. The Wildcatz end the year with a 18-8 record.
