Sobrato showcased its depth of talent and skill as the Bulldogs overcame a slow start against Gilroy to win their hope opener 50-42 on Dec. 21.
The Bulldogs are on a roll to start the season, jumping out to a 6-1 record, with its only blemish coming against Lowell at the Gunderson Classic on Dec. 14.
Since then, the Bulldogs have rattled off four straight wins, including a 48-16 victory over Yerba Buena on Dec. 23.
But Sobrato almost saw that not come to pass as another surprisingly good team jumped out to a healthy lead in the opening minutes of last week’s game.
Gilroy was led by two players in double figures and gave Sobrato some trouble early.
Maddy Cox and Jackie Morales both had 11 points in the loss, but the duo helped to keep the game within striking distance.
Cox had a double-double, pulling down 10 boards while also hitting a trio of 3s.
Meanwhile, Sobrato stayed the steady course with 12 points from Samantha Brenny and Helena Batey as the Bulldogs got contributions up and down the lineup. Two players had six and another had five for a balanced scoring night.
Gilroy got out to a quick start with a 10-2 lead behind a 3-pointer from Cox and one from Adina Valencia.
“It was our first home game, so I thought our girls felt a strong obligation to do good and kind of overworked themselves mentally,” said coach Erica Wallace. “They were just over looking things and fumbling easy layup passes.”
Sobrato, however, beatup Gilroy in the post with Batey scoring nine of her 12 points in the quarter and had all but six of the Bulldogs’ points in the first quarter.
Gilroy also had seven turnovers in the quarter and finished with 21 for the game.
That led to 21 points off of turnovers for the Bulldogs.
Gilroy led 17-15 after the first eight minutes.
But Sobrato kept hanging around an eventually took a lead at the very end of the quarter with a 6-0 run.
That was despite a pair of treys from Cox that put Gilroy up 20-17 and 27-24.
But Sobrato built some momentum at the end of the half, leading 30-27 and that momentum carried over to the third quarter when the Bulldogs took control.
Sobrato opened the half on a 9-0 run as Brenny went for six in the 12-point quarter and held Gilroy to five points in the frame.
Wallace said the difference in the quarter came from practice earlier in the week.
She said Cox and Valencia were going to be the girls that would carry Gilroy so she wanted to make sure her players knew where they were on the court at all times.
It paid off in that quarter as Cox was held scoreless and Valencia had one bucket.
Valencia broke up the run with a 3-pointer but Sobrato still built a double-digit lead even with Morales hitting a bucket at the end.
Gilroy did make a push at the start of the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit in half.
But the Mustangs couldn’t get the Sobrato lead down below five.
Valencia and Alyssa Harden both finished with six points.
Sobrato now heads to the Cupertino Classic, which started Tuesday. The Bulldogs will return home Jan. 3 to host Oak Grove 7 p.m. at Sobrato.
