Gilroy High girls hoops finishes in sixth place with 2-2 tourney
record.
SEASIDE – It was an up-and-down outing for the Lady Mustang hoopsters in the Seaside Tournament as they finished in sixth place with a 2-2 record. It marked the first time this season Gilroy has not reached the championship game in a tournament.
The Lady Mustangs (11-4) opened with an impressive 66-41 victory over Orestimba High, near Modesto. Senior Laura Hennessee – who was named to the All-Tournament team – and junior teammate Sarah Miller both finished with a team-high 15 points. Senior Danell Dow added 12 points, while sophomore Shante Mancera and senior Jenn Olvera netted six points apiece.
“(We had) all-around contributions from everyone on the team,” first-year head coach Kari Williams said. “We had a pretty good game.”
In the second round, Gilroy went up against Porterville – which showed why it was the tournament’s top-ranked team by handing the Lady Mustangs a 60-36 loss.
“We didn’t shoot real well from the field or rebound well,” Williams said. “It was not a very good game for us.”
Olvera netted a team-high nine points, while Hennessee finished up with eight points and Mancera added seven points.
The Lady Mustangs returned to form in their next game – topping host Seaside by a 64-57 margin. In the winning effort, four players scored in double-digits – junior center Sarah Hoeft (team-high 12 points), Hennessee (11 points), Olvera (10 points), and Mancera (10 points).
“We got a great team effort. Everybody on the team scored in this game,” Williams said. “We really got a good effort from everyone. We had a really good game. We played really well against them.”
A shorthanded Lady Mustang team then went on to drop a 59-35 decision to Granite Bay in the consolation game for fifth place.
“(Granite Bay) was a pretty good team,” Williams said. “They played us pretty tough.”
Despite the unfavorable outcome, sophomore guard Michelle DiFiore had a stand-out performance with nine points.
“She played really well,” said Williams of DiFiore. “She was real aggressive on her rebounding.”
Up next, the Lady Mustangs will play back-to-back games against Watsonville on Friday and Washington on Saturday.
