FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — Ruayda Bouls went on a rampage Friday night, leading Harlingen South to a decisive 53-46 victory over the Lady Greyhounds at the San Benito gymnasium.
The senior scored 15 of her 19 total points after the break and propelled the Lady Hawks to a 10-3 District 32-6A record (22-10 overall).
“We knew they were going to come out,” said Harlingen South head coach Kelly Garrett. “It was a must win for them so I told the girls, ‘you cannot let up and allow them to get this win.’ We need to go into the playoffs on a high note.
“I think we did very well except at the end of the game; we didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball.”
With three minutes left in the game, San Benito’s Miranda Vallejo cut Harlingen South’s lead to four after the Lady Hawks had entered the fourth period ahead 40-28.
That’s when Bouls went to work, scoring nine of the teams final 13 points. Teammates Emily Susen and Breanna Gonzalez both had 10 points on the night.
Mikaela Flores had a great night for the Lady Hawks, dropping nine points from beyond the arch and jump starting Harlingen South’s offense in the first half. Previous to the game, the junior had been in a scoring slump.
“I told her to just keep shooting, we all have slumps but the only way to keep get out of them is to keep shooting,” said Garrett of Flores. “She’s been putting a lot of extra time in practice to get herself out of it. She got some good looks tonight and made them count.
“She had a good overall game moving the ball offensively and defensively made it hard for them.”
The Lady Hawks prepare to enter the postseason on a four-game win streak, going 7-2 in the final nine games of the season.
For the Lady ’Hounds, team captain Jav’ana Gonzalez had another big night leading her team with 12 points on the night. Teammates Vallejo contributed nine and Rebecca Hartman had eight points.
“She (Gonzalez) gave it all tonight,” said San Benito head coach Abel Moreno Jr. “She a great athlete and a great girl, she put us in a position to do a lot of things.
“I’m just sad we couldn’t win district for her.”
For San Benito the loss makes the next game against Brownsville Rivera a must-win game. A loss against Rivera puts them completely out of the picture.
If the Lady Greyhounds can get a victory, they will automatically be placed in a playoff seeding.
“We missed a number of shots at the end of the game,” said Moreno. “Missing the baskets early in game came back to haunt us and made us fight from behind.”