Trailing 20-14 at halftime, assistant coach Alex Sheldon challenged the San Marcos girls basketball team to kick it into another gear.
“He asked ‘Who’s going to step it up? Who’s going to be the spark?’,” said coach Kristyn Miller.
In response, the Royals stepped it up as a team and outscored Santa Ynez 27-8 in the second half to pick up a 41-28 win over the Pirates at the Thunderhut in the Gold Coast Tournament.
Kimmy Sanchez nailed three from long range and finished with a game-high 17 points, and Jeanette Mendoza added 15 to lead the comeback.
Lindsey Hyslop only scored one point, but every time there was a thud in the gym it was her. The junior guard flung herself all over the court to get to loose balls, which in turn energized her teammates.
“I’m a really aggressive player, so anything that’s on my mind I just take it and throw it out there on the court,” she said.
She must have had a lot on her mind on Thursday.
“We got real excited at halftime because we knew we could come back and we’re tired of losing. I thought Jeanette really was the one who got us all really fired up.”
The Pirates (0-7) played a 1-3-1 zone defensively, and San Marcos (4-3) responded by swinging the ball around the perimeter until something opened up inside or there was an open look on the perimeter. Despite being a much smaller team, the Royals didn’t need to rely on hot shooting. In fact, Sanchez’s treys were the only ones that fell for either team.
“We started doing the little things right, like finishing around the basket and making our free throws,” said Miller. “We don’t want to stop shooting, we just want to get after it and rebound.”
The Royals play a big and tough Righetti team on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
(photos by John Dvorak/PresidioPics – to order prints email us at [email protected])
SAN MARCOS 41, SANTA YNEZ 28
San Marcos…..8 6 16 11 — 41
Santa Ynez…..8 12 2 6 — 28
San Marcos—Hyslop 1, Chilton 5, Mendoza 15, Sanchez 17, Ochoa 4, Unzueta 2. Totals 13 14-24 41.
Santa Ynez—Herrera 2, King 7, Rasmussen 2, Fredrickson 7, Rivera 6, Belen 2, Van Der Linden 2. Totals 11 6-15 28.
3-point goals—SM 3 (Sanchez).
Total fouls—SM 16, SY 15.
Team records— SM 4-3, SY 0-7.
