FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Harlingen South celebrated Parents Night in grand fashion Friday as the Lady Hawks overwhelmingly beat the Lady Falcons 60-37 for their second straight District 32-6A victory.
“I think we did a better job of executing,” said Harlingen South head coach Kelly Garrett. “We came out with more energy, and we talked about finishing plays.
“I think the girls did a better of hanging in the press and converting those points into seals this time.”
Los Fresnos got on the scoreboard first behind back-to-back buckets from Lynette Duran to take a quick 4-2 lead, but it was South’s Leeanne Ledesma who brought the home crowd to its feet when she hit a three-point shot to close the first 12-11 in favor of the Lady Hawks.
With 4:52 left in the second Harlingen South standout Ruayda Bouls hit a layup to widen the gap to seven giving the Lady Hawks a 20-13 lead. The senior enjoyed her 18th birthday by scoring 16 points on the night.
South opened and closed the second with a solid defensive showing holding the Lady Falcons to just four points in the period. Offensively, the Lady Hawks outscored Los Fresnos 13-4 and headed into the half with a 25-15 advantage.
Breanna Gonzalez was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points while teammates Mikaela Flores and Ledesma each contributed eight.
At the half Garrett stressed consistency.
“Being able to handle the press left Breanna our point guard with a lot of easy shots,” said Garrett. “I told them at the half to just keep what your doing and don’t let them into this game.”
And the Lady Hawks did just that as they outscored Los Fresnos 19-9 in the third and 18-13 in the final period.
South opened up a 15-point lead midway through the third and got it as wide as 22 in the fourth.
The victory put Harlingen South at 13-7 overall and 2-1 in district.
For the Lady Falcons Kesli Mcdonough had a team-high 15 points with teammates Duran and Joseline Caravego each finishing the night six.