Sobrato takes pounding from Salinas and North Salinas to open up
TCAL
Morgan Hill – This isn’t quite the start the Sobrato Bulldogs girls basketball team wanted in Tri-County Athletic League play. The Lady Bulldogs played host to the North Salinas Vikings Friday night, and the Vikings came to pillage, beating Sobrato 69-27.
Prior to the game, the Bulldogs had played perfectly at home, achieving a 4-0 record at Sobrato, but the 13-2 Vikings are playing very good ball in the TCAL, and Friday night was no exception.
Right off the tip North Salinas was down in Bulldog territory and it didn’t take long for them to strike. The Bulldogs drove the ball down court and answered the first score quickly, but that was as close as they would come to the lead all night.
By the end of the first quarter, North Salinas was up 24-5, and they never let up.
Four Vikings scored in double digits for North Salinas’ offense. Cindy Cano and Briana Matthews each had 12 points in the win while Nicole Martinez and Audrey Sanchez each added 10 points for the Vikings, putting the game well out of the Bulldogs’ reach.
The pressure of the staggering deficit forced Sobrato to play aggressively, trying to catch up. But the pace forced them into bad situations, sloppy passing, and several missed baskets.
Bolstered by their lead and the frantic pace of the game, the girls of North Salinas, like the Vikings of old, turned their minds to thievery, amassing an impressive 21 steals on the night.
By halftime, the Bulldogs were down 42-16. Sobrato’s offense did not have an answer for the aggressive defensive play of the Vikings.
Bulldog freshman guard Sarina Santiago led Sobrato with 9 points, all from three-point range. Point guard Roxy Dominguez added five points for Sobrato while teammates Michelle Bradley and Laura Billos each contributed four points. Billos also pulled in an incredible 18 rebounds for Sobrato.
But it wasn’t enough.
“We’re a team starting three freshman and two sophomores,” said Sobrato coach Rodney Tabares. “It’s going to be an uphill battle all year.”
“I’m just proud the girls played the full 32-minutes,” said Tabares of his teams’ effort. “We’re really trying to get our freshman and sophomores up to speed at varsity.”
Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, the Bulldogs traveled to Salinas to in their first TCAL game against the Cowboys and were defeated 51-26.
The Salinas defense smothered Sobrato offense, preventing the Bulldogs from scoring more than nine points in any of the four quarters.
Billos was once again huge on the boards for the Bulldogs, pulling in 12 rebounds. Bradley finished with nine points and seven rebounds in the loss to the Cowboys.
Jennifer Tran, brought up from junior varsity, has been a bright spot for Sobrato. Tran finished with eight points against Salinas.
“Jennifer has broken into the starting lineup and really changed the tempo of the game when she played,” said Tabares. “She is extremely quick and pushes the ball up the court really well.”
Carly Haddan led the Cowboys’ attack with 15 points, while teammate Crystal Castillo added 10 points in the win.
The Bulldogs will be taking an 0-2 league record to San Benito this Wednesday to face the 0-3 Haybalers.
“They’re (San Benito) a really quick, agile team and they press a lot,” said Tabares. “That has been a problem for us. We’ve been working on man-to-man defense more. Zone defenses really don’t work in the TCAL from what I’ve seen.”
