By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
So far, so good in District 32-6A for the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles.
They won their district opener 45-37 at home Friday against the San Benito Lady Greyhounds.
“San Benito came ready to play tonight, and they gave us a tough game,” Lady Eagles coachLuis Gonzalez said. “It was close throughout the night, and we were able to pull away by getting some defensive stops (at the end).
“My girls played great ball tonight, but hats off to San Benito,” Gonzalez added. “They came ready to play. Our district is tough, top to bottom, and we’re going to have battles like this every night.”
San Benito(7-7, 0-1 district) was up 13-12 after one quarter before the Lady Eagles (12-3, 1-0) came back to hold a 26-21 advantage at intermission. It was a three-point game, 32-29, as Hanna went into the final period with the lead.
“We were in it the whole way, but turnovers really hurt us,” said San Benitocoach Abel Moreno, who is in his first year of guiding the Lady Greyhounds after coming over from Rivera. “We threw the ball away way too much.
“We had a rough preseason, and we’re just trying to figure out ways to get the ball (in spots to give us good scoring opportunities),” Moreno added. “We’re working on scoring and rebounding, and those were things that kind of bothered us tonight.
“We’re working on it, and we’re in better shape now, I think. I’m happy with how the future looks for us, but as far as tonight, we just came up short.”
Rebecca Hartman and Kailha Reyes led San Benito with 10 and nine points, respectively.
Priscilla Hernandez topped Hanna with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Teammates Taylor Cano and Carolina Moreno each added eight points.
Hanna’s biggest lead was 10 points, 42-32, with 2:46 remaining when Cano scored from underneath and was fouled. She could have boosted her team’s advantage to 11 points but failed to convert her ensuing free throw.
Morenomade a steal and dribbled down the court for a fastbreak layup with 1:06 left to account for the final score, 45-37.
The Lady Greyhounds’ largest lead was three points, 13-10, with 41.3 seconds to go in the opening quarter when Miranda Vallejo drained a 3-pointer from the left side.
Both teams continue 32-6A action Tuesday, as Hanna plays at Harlingen High and San Benito will be at home against Los Fresnos.