Merced bench gives stagnant offense a lift

Rob Pierce had been looking for an excuse to shake things up.

Not pleased with the energy and execution he’d been getting from his starting unit the last few games, the Merced High School girls basketball coach was hoping to get his bench a few extra looks. A 6-for-24 shooting performance spanning the first quarter and start of the second from the Bears’ first unit Tuesday night presented the opportunity.

And the Merced bench provided just the spark Pierce was looking for, scoring all 14 of the Bears’ points in the second quarter. Led by Brittany McCreary’s six points and Raelynn Blackwell’s five, Merced took control of the game with a 22-1 run to close the first half and cruised to a 54-32 Central California Conference victory over Turlock at Clemons Court.

“It was something that we’d talked about for a few days, just our offense being a bit stagnant,” Pierce said. “I figured let’s get the bench in there and see what they can do.

“I was very pleased with the response. They moved the ball well and got us some big point.”

The move had the added bonus of sending a message to Merced’s starting unit. It seemed to find its mark as Merced (8-7, 2-0 CCC) looked like a different team to open the second half.

The Bears, who forced 24 turnovers in the first half, increased their defensive pressure and began playing much more unselfishly on the offensive end. The points began to flow, and the 22-1 run to close the first half expanded into a 38-2 run that broke open the game.

Symone Gilliam scored nine of her game-high 13 points in the third quarter and Lexi Thompson scored four of her seven.

“I was proud of the bench,” said Gilliam, who also had a team-high five assists and four steals. “It’s a great feeling to know that they can step in and have the starters’ backs like that.

“Just like coach having to call a timeout a minute into the game, sitting most of the second quarter was a wakeup call for us. We responded in the third.”

Turlock (7-12, 0-2 CCC) had trouble getting shots off, squandering more than half its possessions with 40 turnovers to just 36 shot attempts. Sianna Cruz heated up in the fourth quarter, scoring all 11 of her points. Caitlyn Duval scored 10.

Atwater 43, Pitman 38 in Turlock – Maritza Hernandez made four three-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points as the Falcons (14-4, 2-0 CCC) extended their winning streak to 11 with the win over the Pride (6-10, 0-2).

El Capitan 52, Pacheco 32 in Los Banos – Jennifer Soriano’s team-high 11 points helped propel the Gauchos (2-9, 2-2 Western Athletic Conference) to a road victory over the Panthers (3-10, 0-3).

Boys

Livingston 57, Hilmar 55 in Livingston – Harman Singh (game-high 16 points) grabbed a big offensive rebound and found Josh Penrod (13 points) for a layup with six seconds left to give the Wolves (7-10) a victory over the Yellowjackets (9-8) at Naldi Court.

This story was originally published January 13, 2015 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Merced bench gives stagnant offense a lift."