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Sports

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Gunn Holds Off Gilroy to Advance to CCS Finals

Titans rally late behind clutch 3-pointer and free throws to move on to Saturday's finale against cross town rival Paly.

Gunn 43, Gilroy 40

The Star: Julia Maggioncalda stepped up to the line and sunk not one, not two, but four key free throws in the final minute of play to help her team secure a 43-40 win over No. 2 seed Gilroy High in the Central Coast Section Division I Girls Basketball semifinals Wednesday night at Christopher High in Gilroy.

Maggioncalda put the Titans ahead 41-40 after drawing a two-shot foul off a baseline drive with 48 ticks left on the clock. The junior then stole the ball on the other end of the floor and calmly swished two more from the charity stripe. She led her team with 13 points. Fellow junior Catherine Perez scored 12 points in the playoff nail biter.

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The Turning Point: Gilroy led 40-36 with just under two minutes left to play. After the heady rebound follow score by Dani Hemeon put the Mustangs up by four, the ball was quickly pushed up the floor to an open shooter. Gunn sophomore Nora Shevick buried an open 3-pointer to quickly slice the lead back down to only one point. Superb defensively all evening long, Gunn bottled up the driving lanes and forced the Mustangs to launch deep shots throughout the ball game. Without starting point guard to direct the show—the starting guard was lost to fouls midway through the fourth quarter—the ball ended up in the hand of Maggioncalda down the stretch. She delivered to setup a juicy CCS finals matchup against Palo Alto on Saturday night.

The Quotes: “I just wanted to try and get to the basket,” Maggioncalda said about her hard drive to the basket that drew a key foul. “Making the free throws was huge. I think I missed every other one I took tonight. I’m glad I made those ones. Every one of them is tough. I just try to visualize them going in before I shoot.”

Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 The Titans junior is excited to some familiar faces in the finals.

 “I’m so proud of Palo Alto,” Maggioncalda said. “It’s cool that we both came from our league and made it to the finals. We were hoping for this chance the whole time. Now we just have to play our game. I’m really excited for Saturday.”

 What's Next? Gunn will take on No. 1 seed Palo Alto High on Saturday night at 6 pm. The championship game will be held at Santa Clara University. Paly defeated Gunn in both meetings this season.

 Bottom Line: With imposing center Catherine Perez smack dab in the middle of the Gunn zone, the perimeter defenders were free to roam and harass throughout the semifinal showdown. With the pace of the game slowed down to a near standstill, the tempo was played to the Titans liking. That allowed Gunn to grind out another victory, keeping the fast break Gilroy offense benched for the majority of the night.

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Gunn Scoring

Maggioncalda-13

Klausner-3

Zwerling-5

Perez-12

Shevick-4

Redfield-6

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