Lady Mustang hoopsters can’t hold 13-point lead in 55-52
overtime loss to Hollister at home
GILROY – The Lady Mustang kickers could blame their foul trouble on Thursday’s 55-52 overtime loss to Hollister. They could also blame their shoddy free-throw shooting down the stretch. They could even blame the intense crowd noise for their shortcomings.
But the simple fact remains that falling asleep with a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter was everyone’s fault, not just one player, and, ultimately, cost them the game.
“It was really intense. I wasn’t expecting both sides to get so into the game. I think it helped everything, but I think it was really hard because we were ahead for so much of the game and then at the end we just fell apart,” said junior Amanda Link, who was one of two Lady Mustangs to foul out after scoring seven points. “It was really frustrating.”
Despite scoring only five points in the final quarter, the Lady Mustangs had every chance to take the lead and forgo overtime. With 47 seconds remaining and Gilroy ahead by two, sophomore Catherine Hussey missed both of her free throws, allowing the Haybalers to tie the score on their next trip down court. With 23 seconds remaining and the score all tied up, senior center Sarah Hoeft could not drop even one of her two free throws, keeping the score even at 48-48.
“Either one of them, I would’ve said (before the game that) we’re going to make those free throws. I would’ve expected that of them and they expect it of themselves,” said head coach Kari Williams, following her squad’s second straight league loss. “It was so loud in here that they couldn’t hear anything that was going on. It was intense.”
The house was full and a rockin’ down the stretch in the fourth quarter, as fans exchanged roars for their home teams. It was impossible to stay seated, so most of the crowd was on its feet for the entire overtime session.
“I wish we would have won this game for sure,” Williams said. “This was a good game for us and it’s a learning experience. Unfortunately, this is the second game that I feel like we really played really well and we’re coming out on the losing side of.”
Despite struggling in the fourth quarter, it was a brand new ball game in overtime, as sophomore point guard Kristen Campos dished to Hussey for a bucket and a brief two-point lead. Hollister immediately responded, tying the game back up, and then claimed a four-point edge with four consecutive free throws. But Campos again found the open teammate to cut the gap to two, feeding senior Antionette Okere in the paint.
Hussey (12 points) then fought for control of the ball on a missed shot from Hollister, but was off target on her mid-range jumper for the tie. Keeping her head in the game, Hussey fouled Hollister with 6.5 ticks left and, after a one-of-two trip, the Lady Mustangs still had one more chance to tie down by three.
Following a time-out, Gilroy set up for its final inbound play, but called another time-out before passing the ball in. On their second re-start, junior Kendall Costa (12 points) inbounded to Campos in the backcourt. Campos let the ball bounce several times before picking it up, and then forced a long pass towards teammate Shante Mancera. But the pass missed its target and went out of bounds, leaving an empty feeling in all the Gilroy players.
“Campos, I’m not sure why she picked up the ball as early as she did, but I know she wanted to make sure she got the ball. We felt like we had a lot of time,” Williams said. “I wanted her to bring it down the court and if she had the shot to take it. I had my other three-point shooters in there, so if she had somebody on her tight, I wanted her to dish the ball.”
Campos (11 points) dished the ball and Gilroy never got a shot off.
“I just think in the heat of the moment, in the excitement, she threw the pass early, maybe looking to get it back and just threw it to the sideline,” Williams said.
Gilroy was in trouble long before the final buzzer sounded, beginning with poor execution on offense in the final five minutes of regulation. Hoeft (five points) fouled out for the second straight game with :55 seconds left in overtime.
“The last part of the fourth quarter was tough on us. We didn’t score because we weren’t doing the things that I asked them to do. We were coming down penetrating, getting the dish, making easy baskets. I said, ‘Let’s keep doing that.’ We never did it again in the fourth quarter,” Williams said. “They were still trying. They were trying to make things happen, but they weren’t doing what I asked of them. It was kinda like over-trying even though we were leading. It was a strange night.”
The Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the opening quarter that was highlighted by Campos draining a three-point shot with 20 seconds left. But Gilroy got in deep foul trouble, already putting Hollister into the double-bonus to open the second quarter. Despite the Lady Haybalers’ shaky 8-of-17 free-throw shooting, the charity stripe kept them within 30-20 at halftime.
“It was 13 fouls to five in the first half so that hurt us. They stayed within 10 because they were getting put to the free-throw line,” Williams said.
Gilroy – which will have its hands full against Notre Dame in Salinas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. – extended to a 13-point lead in the third quarter and looked well on the way to a convincing victory when a late lapse allowed Hollister back into the game.
“I don’t know if you forget about it. I think you remember and when we play them again, we go in there with the attitude of we’re going to win this game,” Williams said.
