For the second straight year in the row, Harlingen failed to get passed the area round of the playoffs, losing to Laredo United South 66-52 at Corpus Christi Ray Gymnasium on Friday night.
The Lady Cardinals finished the season at 30-5.
“Coming in here we had seen Harlingen against Weslaco East and we were extremely worried,” said Laredo United South head coach Robert W. Burrier. “In that game they came out and were up 12 points within three minutes, so we prepared extensively for the pressure we were going to face.
“Hats off to them. We played a great, great Harlingen Cardinal team with rich tradition.”
Both teams got off to a slow start, with Harlingen taking a small 10-7 lead into the second period. Sami Quilantan led the charge scoring four points for the Lady Cards, who jumped out to a 19-9 lead with 6:45 left in the second.
However, the momentum shifted when Harlingen stars Quilantan and Marissa Gasca picked up their third fouls and sat out for the remainder of the first half.
With both juniors on the bench the Lady Panthers dominated the remainder of the second quarter going on a 19-7 run to take a slim 28-26 lead into halftime.
In the third period the Lady Panthers went back to work, outscoring Harlingen 22-8. Gasca and Quilantan could only watch from the bench as Laredo took a commanding 50-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
Laredo had three players in double digits on the night. Myra Perez had 18 points while teammates Valerie Leone and Samantha Zamora each added 17.
“Valerie has been a warrior all year long and has really carried us through out the year,” said Burrier. “She has a never say die attitude and mentality. You can see that see never came out and played 32 minutes.
“We have Zamora who can drive it in and we have Perez who can pound it in but Valerie makes us go.”
All season long Harlingen’s aggressive defensive had helped them dominate over the district. However Friday was a different story as the Lady Cardinals lost two of their brightest stars to foul trouble.