LA FERIA — The La Feria Lionettes made things interesting at one point, but it was the PSJA North Lady Raiders who forced turnovers and made shots on their way to a 48-33 win in the finals of the 41st Tommie Wiseman Tournament on Saturday afternoon at La Feria High School.
The Lady Raiders, like the Lionettes throughout the tournament, played frustrating defense and forced tough shots throughout.
But unlike the Lionettes, the Lady Raiders made shots beyond the arc and were able to stay in the driver’s seat despite a La Feria run.
For PSJA head coach Randy Bocanegra, it was all about getting by a stingy Lionettes defense.
“We wanted to make sure we were able to handle (La Ferias’) intense pressure; they work really hard,” Bocanegra said. “We knew if we could withstand that pressure and shoot well like we did in the beginning, we’d be OK.”
La Feria did manage open shots, but still had a rough time in the paint when finding rare opportunities. It was just part of the struggles La Feria had Saturday.
“Normally we’re a pretty good transition team, but (PSJA North) did a good job slowing us down. However, we did have chances to make shots under the basket,” La Feria head coach Angel Martinez said.
“I say we missed easily 10 shots and we struggled from the free-throw line and got into foul trouble. It’s tough to win a game with your leading scorer and point guard on the bench.”
Early on, PSJA North used the long ball and steady scoring from Sarah Serrano and Cynthia Martinez to grab a double-digit halftime lead. Serrano finished the game with 26 and Martinez, the tournament MVP, added 19.
The Lionettes, did however, end the half with four straight points to head into the locker room trailing 27-16.
Their momentum carried into the third quarter as they started on an 8-0 run and cut the lead to 27-24.
Martinez then hit a three late in the third to push the lead back to seven and kill La Feria’s momentum.
“Cindy Martinez was able to shoot out of a slump and we shot really well when we had to,” Bocanegra said. “We’re very grateful for that. We are very happy to win a tournament.”
For La Feria, they’ll take being competitive against a solid Lady Raider team.
“PSJA North came in blowing every team by almost 30, so I’ll take a 15-point loss,” said coach Martinez. “We got it down to four there, but they hit some big threes to get that separation. We stayed with a good team and our girls should be very proud.”
La Feria’s Illiana Ayala led her squad with nine points, while Connie Ceballos added six.
Earlier in the day, the Port Isabel Lady Tarpons beat Valley View 43-32 to capture the consolation title.
Meanwhile, the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats beat La Joya 55-33 to win fifth place.
Tommie Wiseman Tournament
GIRLS
At La Feria High School
Thursday’s games
Mission 52, Lyford 49
Zapata 61, Valley View 30
Rio Hondo 43, Edcouch-Elsa 30
PSJA North 62, PSJA Southwest 26
La Joya 30, Port Isabel 20
La Feria 48, Brownsville Porter 22
Brownsville Rivera 43,Raymondville 30
Rio Grande City 44, PSJA 39
Friday’s games
Championship bracket
Zapata 40, Mission 39
PSJA North 63, Rio Hondo 33
La Feria 35, La Joya 21
Rivera 40, RGC 30
Championship semifinals
PSJA North 63, Zapata 31
La Feria 42, Rivera 25
Consolation bracket
Valley View 45, Lyford 34
E-E 27, PSJA Southwest 22
Port Isabel 49, Porter 44
Raymondville 45, PSJA 40
Consolation semifinals
Valley View 26, E-E 14
Port Isabel 45, Raymondville 43
Fifth-place bracket
Rio Hondo 54, Mission 34
La Joya 45, RGC 41
Guranteed games
Lyford 47, PSJA Southwest 24
Porter 30, PSJA 28
Saturday’s games
Fifth-place game: Rio Hondo 55, La Joya 33
Consolation final: Port Isabel 43, Valley View 32
Third-place game: Rivera 48, Zapata 38
Championship: PSJA North 48, La Feria 33
Guranteed games
Game 25: PSJA 51, PSJA Southwest 48
Game 26: Lyford 52, Porter 42
Game 28: RGC 49, Mission 3