Turlock Christian High’s girls basketball team stepped onto its home court with a quiet sense of confidence Monday night when they hosted Gustine High. The Eagles (9-0 Southern) once again cruised to a lopsided victory, defeating Gustine (2-7 Southern) 72-13.
The Redskins were also quiet on the court, albeit for a completely different reason. As they have so many times this season TC outclassed its opponent, utilizing a strong defensive presence to neutralize Gustine. The Redskins were stunned early, left with exasperated looks on their faces and signs of resignation.
Halie Bergman did most of the scoring for the Eagles, finishing with 41 points despite only being on the court for 20 minutes. A majority of her shots were set up by Rebekah Muller who recorded eight steals and applied constant pressure on Gustine’s offense. Muller consistently stole or intercepted the basketball, passing it down court to an open Bergman or other Eagle for easy points. Muller and the TC defense, which were once again without Marly Burton, didn’t allow the Redskins a single point until 4:35 in the second quarter. By halftime the score was 45-7.
“We were pretty confident but we knew we had to still work hard,” Muller said. “Everyone works together, everyone gels. If someone’s down we make sure that we make it work, no matter what.”
The Eagles continued to score and prevent Gustine from doing so in the second half as they rotated their bench every five minutes or so. The Redskins only managed to score four points in the third quarter and two in the fourth. Halfway through the fourth quarter the disheartened Redskins had their hands on their waists and looked to be waiting for the clock to expire.
“I feel bad for Gustine that they gave up so soon,” TC’s head coach Edwin Santiago said. “Or maybe we’re just that good, I don’t know.”
TC’s next game will be Thursday at Denair High.
“Denair runs the floor much better than Gustine does,” Santiago said. “They’ll be in our faces more.”
“We are very confident. We want to take them out,” Muller said.
To contact Frankie Tovar, e-mail ftovar@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
