As Los Gatos High girls basketball coach Sara Quilici Giles was watching game film of San Benito High, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the Wildcats needed to stop Bailey Cotter in order to advance out of their Central Coast Section Division I playoff quarterfinal on Feb. 22.
So Quilici Giles put 6-foot Belle Bramer on the skilled Cotter, who was limited to a season-low six points. The result was rather predictable as top-seed Los Gatos rolled to a 46-28 win. The Wildcats (22-3) now play a familiar foe in Thursday’s semifinals: Los Altos, a team they’ve already beaten twice during the Santa Clara Valley De Anza Division season.
“I’m excited. Los Altos, we know them well, they know us well,” Quilici Giles said. “I think Eric (Stuart) is a really good coach and I enjoy that game within a game matchup. I think they’re playing really well, they’re very disciplined and very smart. We can’t turn the ball over and we can’t make big mistakes. We really have to take care of it, play our game and kind of take a deep breath and stay within our lane and we’ll be OK.”
Quilici Giles knows the 21 turnovers the team committed against San Benito probably won’t get it done against the No. 5 seed Eagles, who lost to the Wildcats by one- and six-points, respectively, in two league contests. Quilici Giles said last night’s game was a nice primer on playoff basketball for her young team.
“I think the girls understand now the playoff atmosphere and the playoff effort that is needed and I think Thursday will be a very different game,” she said. “This one was a lot of nervous energy going into it for all of us because we hadn’t played for nine days when we were playing every other day for four weeks straight. We had a scrimmage last week, but it’s not the same, so I think it was great to get this one out of the way. It was also nice because everyone got to play, which I love.”
Bramer hounding Cotter was a microcosm of the Wildcats’ tough defense all over the court. Outside of guard Emmia Rivera, the Haybalers couldn’t generate anything offensively. Bramer, Nicole Steiner, Casey Brennan, Ashley Childers, Jeanette Grasty and Keira Dodd led the way in staying in front of their San Benito counterparts.
Bramer set the tone early with a pair of blocks on two of the Balers’ first four possessions. She and Steiner finished with team-high honors with 12 points each. Childers had nine, all via the 3-pointer. The Wildcats were an efficient 16-of-29 (55 percent) from the field in the first half, one of their best performances for a half in several games.
As usual, their length overwhelmed another opponent, resulting in a dozen steals and contributing to San Benito’s high turnover count (28). Defensively, it all started with Bramer being glued to Cotter, who has had one magnificent season that includes four 30-point plus games and a triple double in San Benito’s playoff opener the previous round.
“(Cotter) is amazing,” Quilici Giles said. “In my mind, that was the difference in the game. I watched a bunch of film on the Haybalers and the difference is No. 11. She’s so smart and so shifty and such a good basketball player with such a high basketball IQ that I was thinking would probably be the best basketball player we’ve seen all year. And luckily Belle is Belle.
“She’s spectacular in a way on defense. It’s amazing that she can shut No. 11 down and also be in help the entire game because my game plan was ‘like Belle, don’t be in help,’ but she’s still Belle and she still wants to help her teammates and be in the right spot at the right time. And she frustrated her so much and that was the difference in the game for me. Belle does a lot on offense, but it’s her defense that kind of floors me a little bit when I watch her. It’s amazing.”
San Benito coach Mitch Burley also had high praise for Bramer.
“We’re marveling at the girl guarding Bailey,” Burley said. “Just as skilled but I don’t know how many more inches taller with longer arms. So it’s hard to overcome that.”
Quilici Giles praised the efforts of all her players and how they competed well. Even though it wasn’t the team’s cleanest game by a long shot, at this point it’s win and advance. Los Gatos is moving the ball well, rotating nicely on defense, rebounding strong and shooting well from the outside.
Steiner has led the rebounding brigade by cleaning up on the defensive end and getting physical for offensive putbacks. Grasty and Galbo also did a nice job getting to their spots and hitting shots. But the key for the Wildcats is defense, and when they can defend like they did Tuesday, their chances of winning are exponentially higher.
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at [email protected]
