San Marcos turned up the defensive pressure and beat Bishop Diego, 47-29, in a non-league girls basketbal game on Friday at Bishop’s Brick House Gym.
“Alyssa Hernandez and Kiani Rojas did a good job containing their point guard and disrupting their offense,” said San Marcos coach Aaron Solis.
The Royals held the Cardinals under double figures in every quarter.
San Marcos led 23-13 at halftime and 34-21 after three quarters
“Piper Nielsen came off the bench and gave us a good pick-up in the third quarter,” said Solis. “Michelle Arellanes hit a long two and a three-pointer in the fourth to help us pull away.”
The Cardinals (10-3) pulled to 34-26 in the fourth quarter before Arellanes hit her clutch trey for San Marcos.
“I thought we had a chance, but they hit a three and that was a back breaker,” said Bishop coach Jeff Burich, who had only seven players suited up for the game, four of them being freshmen.
“I thought we played well at times,” Burich said. “We just missed some shots we normally make, but credit San Marcos for making big shots at critical moments.”
Freshman Mileyni Sanchez led the Cardinals with 11 points.
Sophomore Lily Poehler scored nine points to lead San Marcos in scoring. The Royals improved to 10-2.
“This was a great team victory for us,” Solis said. “Scoring was very balanced throughout the lineup. That is always advantageous when you dont know who to guard.”
— Noozhawk Sports Editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.