FREMONT – Sometimes one must crack the whip to get results.
Girls basketball coach Juan Vela.
After watching the Ross girls basketball team coast through the second and third quarters, Lady Giants coach Juan Vela called timeout with 3:10 to play in the third quarter and expressed his displeasure with their play.
From that point on, the Lady Giants were a different team. Ross held Findlay to just two field goals for the rest of the game and outscored the Trojans by 14 points on its way to a 55-44 victory.
“He said, pretty much, ‘You guys are playing like crap and these people aren’t here to watch you play like crap,’” senior Jazmin Bulger said. “He was like, ‘They paid to watch you play a good game, now go out there and play like we know you can play.’”
The victory snaps the Lady Giants’ three-game losing streak and improves their record to 10-7 overall, 4-5 in the TRAC.
“I don’t think they were playing our style of basketball, offensively or defensively,” Vela said. “We’re not a team that can just do whatever we want and win games. We a have to go out play, with effort, to play together, play hard and play for four quarters to get the results we want.”
Ross began the game with one of its best opening quarters of the season. The Lady Giants made 8-of-17 field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers, en route to a 20-13 lead entering the second quarter, which grew to a 10-point lead after Brooklyn Baptista drained a 3-pointer on the first shot of the second period.
Then things began to turn sideways on the Lady Giants.
Behind a hot stretch of shooting, Findlay went on an 8-0 run and took momentum into halftime, trailing the Lady Giant by just one point, 27-26.
Jazmin Bulger
The Trojans continued their solid play into the second half, taking their first lead of the game and holding a four-point advantage, 35-31, when Vela called timeout with 3:10 to play in the third.
“What I saw was the effort was not there, defensively,” Vela said. “Maybe they spent all their energy in the first quarter but, shoot, they should be able to run all day. We gave Findlay open looks and they hit those shots.”
With their coach’s words ringing in their ears, the Lady Giants went back to work. They closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to re-take the lead entering the fourth quarter, 36-35.
In the final period, Ross returned to the style of play it showed in the first quarter. Bulger drained a 3-pointer to open the quarter then later scored on a fast break after stealing the ball on the defensive end. Rachel Gore assisted on a jump shot by Ahlia Simms and Bulger scored again in transition off a Findlay turnover to take a double-digit lead, 51-40, with just over two minutes to play.
From Vela’s timeout in the third quarter, Ross held Findlay to just two field goals over the final 11:10 of the game, outscoring the Trojans 23-9.
“They responded very well,” Vela said. “We saw some leadership from the older girls, picking the other girls up. It was a change of attitude, change of mentality. Feet were moving, hands, they were talking. It’s what we do, what we preach. It was everything we want them to do but, when we don’t see it, it gets coach very upset.”
Bulger finished with a game-high 24 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and came away with five steals.
“I feel like we stepped it up for (Vela) and everyone in the gym,” Bulger said. “(Vela’s message) definitely got through.”
Brooklyn Baptista added 11 points and Olivia Baptista scored nine.
The Lady Giants return to action Thursday at 7:30 when they host Lima Senior.
Fremont Ross 54, Findlay 44
FINDLAY (44)
Thomas 4 0-0 9; Puchta 0 2-2 2; Heiman 2 4-4 10; Haas 4 3-4 11; Brodine 1 0-0 2; Halliday 2 0-0 4; Laube 1 4-4 6. Totals, 14 13-14 44.
ROSS (54)
Bulger 8 7-10 24; O. Baptista 3 1-2 9; Gore 1 0-0 2; Simms 1 0-0 2; B. Baptista 4 0-0 11; Sabiers 3 0-0 6. Totals, 20 8-12 54.
3-pointers: Findlay, 3 (Puchta 2, Thomas 1); Ross, 6 (B. Baptista 3, O. Baptista 2, Bulger 1)