Gilroy falls 57-22 to St. Francis
San Jose – For seven minutes Wednesday, Gilroy competed at the same level as St. Francis-Mountain View.
But when the wheels came off, they came off in a hurry.
The Lancers trapped and the Mustangs panicked. It resulted in a 57-22 win for St. Francis in the opening round of the Archbishop Mitty New Year’s Classic.
It won’t get any easier for Gilroy today. The Mustangs face Valley Christian at 1pm at Fien Gym. Davis downed the Warriors 68-58.
“I wasn’t happy at the nine minute point of the game when we panicked,” GHS coach James Wilkins said. “And it wasn’t just one or two players. We all panicked and they ran off like 16, 18 points. We can’t have that, especially at this part of the season.”
Part of that was because the Mustangs were short-handed with only eight girls available and the Lancers were able to run in three units to maintain the defensive pressure. And yet, it was hard to believe that Gilroy entered the game with a 7-1 record and four straight wins, and St. Francis was 3-5 with four straight losses.
Other than nine turnovers, Gilroy had an excellent first quarter. The Mustangs shot 50 percent and controlled the boards by an 11-2 margin. And yet, the turnovers were a harbinger of things to come once St. Francis turned up the defensive pressure.
GHS led three times in the first quarter and was tied at 10 with 1:23 left after a Dana Schoeneman jumper. The Lancers responded with a 16-point run and outscored the Mustangs 22-2 for the remainder of the half. Gilroy had six times as many turnovers in the second quarter as it had points (12-2).
“Our kids did a good job rotating off the ball,” St. Francis coach Ashley Hill said. “Our kids have had trouble putting all the pieces together in the puzzle this season. When they play together, they are successful. We’ve come off 5, 6 practices where we stressed fundamentals.”
Kimberly Benedetti came off the bench to pace the Lancers with 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior 6-1 center Aly Geppert had 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Eleven of 14 girls used by Hill scored.
Gilroy’s leading scorers were Vanessa Wilkins and Schoeneman with six points apiece. Wilkins had a game-high 10 rebounds. The Mustangs committed 35 turnovers and struggled with their shooting after the first quarter, finishing 11-of-42 from the field.
“This tournament is an eye-opener for us,” James Wilkins said. “We need to define the things we are doing wrong now and correct them in practice.”
St. Francis (57)-Taylor 2, Gate 6, Houlihan 8, Geppert 10, Montanari 6, Benedetti 14, Flory 2, Biachi 2, Walters 2, Reischl 2, Litak 0, Cala 0, Twomey 0, Genna 3. Totals 26 2-4 57.
Gilroy (22)-Tabilas 0, Schoeneman 6, L. Spellman 0, Wilkins 6, Solorio 2, Preeshl 4, Silveria 2, Magill 2. Totals 11 0-2 22.
St. Francis 14 18 17 8 – 57
Gilroy 2 6 4 – 22
3-point goals: StF, Houlihan 2, Genna.
