The Sobrato girls basketball team continued its winning season with a 48-39 victory over Del Mar on Thursday to take first place in the Blossom Valley League West Valley Division.
The Bulldogs are now 6-1 in their last seven games and have more than doubled the amount of wins they had last season. Del Mar was on a five-game win streak heading into Morgan Hill. The two teams will face one another once more before the season ends.
“It was a game we needed to win,” said Sobrato coach Rodney Tabares.
“We knew we had to play physical and aggressive, but also play smart.”
In Thursday’s game, both teams had trouble scoring in the first quarter. Sobrato found itself down 9-8 after the opening period.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the second quarter and took a 22-15 lead into halftime.
With only one senior and two juniors on his roster, Tabares said he had to calm down his team, who was playing a much more experienced Del Mar team.
“Before the game and during halftime, I was just trying to get my girls to keep their composure,” Tabares said. “Del Mar had older players who have had three to four years of big-game experience that could have worked to their advantage.”
The young Bulldogs showed their maturity in the second half by outscoring Del Mar 26-23 and clinching their 13th of the season.
Freshman Shealyn Kunze scored 23 points in the game and pulled down eight rebounds. Kunze has hit double digits in all but three games this season for Sobrato.
“She’s been consistent all year in scoring,” Tabares said. “She has a mindset of a scorer, but she is also a great defender. She was a real sparkplug for us on defense tonight.”
All but two players made it onto the score sheet for the Bulldogs. Melissa Cachopo scored nine points and dished out four assists in the win.
Tabares also praised sophomore Laura Billos and freshman Katie Nicca for their play inside the key. Bilos had five rebounds and one assist, and Nicca had four rebounds and four assists in Thursday’s game.
As a smaller team then Del Mar, Tabares said he told his players to use their speed and quickness to counter the size difference. He said his players are well conditioned and that their game plan was to tire out their opponent.
“We pressed them,” Tabares said. “We used our speed and played an up-tempo style of game.”
Sobrato next takes on Overfelt at 7pm Wednesday in the Bulldogs gym.
