By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons struggled early in the season with injuries, and they were trying to compensate for the loss of three senior starters from last year’s squad.
But a 2-0 start to the District 32-6A season certainly has helped the setbacks early.
“We’re excited that we’re 2-0 right now. We are slowly starting to play better as a team,” Los Fresnos coach Kim Edquist said. “We’re still making a lot of mistakes and they’re still not where I want them to be or they want to be. But they know that, and they are working hard every day.”
Los Fresnos returned two starters and lost Sherry Leal, a slated starter, to a knee injury. She is out for the season. Another player, Allie Flores, recently finished with the volleyball team and made her first appearance Tuesday.
The Lady Falcons won just five of their first 14 games. But Los Fresnos (7-9, 2-0) is unbeaten through two district games with a road contest against Harlingen South (12-7, 1-1) slated for Friday before a two-week break against district opponents. The Lady Falcons will compete in the DQ Blizzard Bash tournament in McAllen before facing district foe Harlingen High on Jan. 6 at home.
“The kids are trying to make those small improvements we need to make on a daily basis,” Edquist said. “We’re taking each day by day and each dribble by dribble. It’s an ongoing process. We’re learning to play with each other and will be ready to go in the second half.”
CATCHING UP
The Lopez Lady Lobos are learning a new system under first-year coach Stephen Davis and haven’t caught up to some of the other teams yet in district.
Lopez is 0-2 in the start to the district season, and is lacking another quality among its district opponents.
“We’re playing against the teams, but also (against) tradition,” Davis said of some of the more traditionally rich programs in the district. “That’s a big hurdle for a team like ours to get over.”
Five players return with varsity experience, but the Lady Lobos have struggled to play consistently.
Davis said his team is up for the challenge that lies ahead.
“We’re going to be ready sooner than later, that’s what I’ll promise,” he said.
GETTING OFFENSIVE
After the Harlingen South Lady Hawks scored 12 points during the second half of a loss to Brownsville Veterans Memorial in the district opener, coach Kelly Garrett said the team needed to be more aggressive on the offensive end.
The Lady Hawks responded in grand fashion, opening with a 20-point quarter against Lopez on Tuesday, and they added a 31-point third quarter in a 38-point win against the Lady Lobos.
The defensive effort led to more opportunities on the offensive end, as South used better than 20 steals to quickly build a double-digit lead against Lopez.
“We need to work on some things and that’s what we were trying to do, especially defensively,” Garrett said.
Although the Lady Hawks’ coach was pleased with the offensive effort, she stressed finishing at the rim.
“We need to do a better job of executing (on offense) and when we have the opportunities,” Garrett said.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.