Dos Pueblos has lost some close girls basketball games this season, but the Chargers won two back on Tuesday at the Righetti Tournament and evened their record at 8-8 in the process.
Jasmine Mata’s 24 points did the trick in a 61-52 win over Nipomo in the day’s first matchup, while Kristen Gowdy’s 14 points and nine rebounds helped DP defeat an experienced Pioneer Valley squad 48-43 in the nightcap.
“I’m proud of them. They’ve suffered some very tough defeats this season so this was good,” said coach Maynard Pilapil. “It wasn’t like we were playing any different than the other times. It’s just that the ball went in a little more today.”
Mata hit five 3-pointers against Nipomo, and Chiara DiMarco added 14 points, six assists and five steals. Gowdy was also stellar statistically, with 12 points, nine boards and six assists. DiMarco hit a pair of treys in the fourth quarter that gave the Chargers a cushion after the game was even nearly the entire way.
Pioneer Valley features seven seniors and four juniors, while the Chargers don’t carry any upperclassmen. That was irrelevant, however, as DP allowed just five points in the third quarter after the game went into halftime knotted up at 25-25.
Natalie Hilton had four points with six assists, and DiMarco had 13 points with four steals.
Dos Pueblos will try to leap over the .500-mark against Lompoc on Wednesday.
