Sovi Nou knew before Wednesday night’s contest even started she
was going to have a big game.
”
I was feeling it in warm-ups,
”
she said.
Her shooter’s intuition was spot-on, as Nou scored 17 points in
the first half on the way to a game-high 24, leading Gilroy High’s
girls basketball team to a 51-37 victory over the visiting Alisal
Trojans.
GILROY – Sovi Nou knew before Wednesday night’s contest even started she was going to have a big game.
“I was feeling it in warm-ups,” she said.
Her shooter’s intuition was spot-on, as Nou scored 17 points in the first half on the way to a game-high 24, leading Gilroy High’s girls basketball team to a 51-37 victory over the visiting Alisal Trojans.
“I just practiced (hard) throughout this week and prepared for this game and games to come,” she said.
Leading 13-12 after the first quarter, Gilroy ended the half up 27-20, but could have created even greater distance between itself and the Trojans were it not for some defensive lapses while running a full-court zone press.
Adjustments made during the break allowed the Mustangs to take a 43-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.
“We switched it up in the third quarter to man-to-man and [we] just exploded,” Gilroy coach Susan Shapiro said.
Trojans coach Mick Battaglini felt his team had a chance to win when it closed within 10, 47-37, and just a few minutes remained in the game, but a strong offensive effort by Gilroy was just too much overcome.
“We gave up way too many second-chance shots and Gilroy shot very well from the outside,” he said.
Nou hit four three-pointers, while Chelsea Hill led Gilroy with nine rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks. Laura Steele and Lindsey Foster had seven and six rebounds, respectively, while Foster added three blocks of her own.
Both teams committed 20 turnovers.
Gilroy is now 1-0 in Tri-County Athletic League play with Wednesday’s victory, 9-5 on the season. Alisal drops to 5-10 overall, 0-1 in the TCAL.
The Mustangs will hit the road Friday for a 7 p.m. contest at Salinas.
