JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela’s Lyssa Garcia made an off-season pact with her mom and dad.
“This year, I had promised my parents I would score a lot more than I usually do,” she said.
The senior guard’s father asked for at least 3 points scored in every quarter Garcia played.
“But I decided I would do more than 3 points,” Garcia said. “And (I would) just keep pushing and pushing and see how many points I could get out of that.”
What she got Friday night at Edinburg Vela High School was a 13-point performance in the Lady SaberCats’ 55-34 win over Mission Veterans. Garcia scored in every quarter and in almost every fashion: a put-back in the first, a triple in the second, layups in the third, capped by an and-1 in the fourth.
Garcia’s break-out night came during the most important game of Vela’s season. Both the Lady SaberCats and the Lady Patriots entered the contest at 5-0 in District 31-5A, with the winner claiming sole possession of first place.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight coming in,” Vela senior guard Ariel Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez’s words echoed a quote written on a dry-erase board in the Lady SaberCats’ locker room by Vela coach Lottie Zarate.
“That was (Mission Veterans coach Rafael Cantu’s) words to me back in November,” Zarate said. “Every time a coach talks to me, I’ll put it (on the board) so that (my players know).”
The game only resembled a “dog fight” in the first quarter. Each team kick-started the night with a pair of turnovers and sloppy offensive execution, which led to a paltry, if closely contested, 11-8 Vela lead.
“Things were kind of difficult there in the beginning,” Garcia said. “We had trouble making shots.”
Vela’s offense came alive in the second quarter, however. The Lady SaberCats (17-8, 6-0) scored 17 points behind a pair of Rodriguez 3-pointers to take a 28-20 halftime lead. Rodriguez scored a game-high 19 points, one better than her season per-game average.
Vela’s offense clicked thanks in part to its pristine ball movement. Of the team’s 11 first half field goals, 7 came on an assist.
From there, Mission Veterans (16-10, 5-1) never recovered. The Lady SaberCats outscored the Lady Patriots 27-14 in the second half, and continued pouring in shots from behind the arc, generating turnovers and getting to the foul line. For Cantu, it was a night of missed opportunities.
“We got punched and we never punched back,” he said. “We didn’t respond. We need to respond in those situations by coming together.”
The Lady Patriots were marred by foul trouble and an inability to convert open looks. Forward D.D. Ibarra sat out much of the second quarter with three fouls, and leading scorer Ashley Smith missed several looks close to the rim.
“We haven’t been shooting the ball well,” Cantu said. “Against Rio Grande City we were 4 of 26 in the first half, and we escaped that one. We can’t shoot like that and win ballgames.”
For the Lady SaberCats, Friday’s win brings them one game closer to their goal of an unblemished district record. But as the victories come, Zarate attempts to find a balance between confidence and ego.
“I tell my girls, ‘Don’t come in here with your head bigger than a water tower,’” she said. “‘You’re head won’t fit through the door.’”
Though Zarate and her team pledge the customary oath of taking things one game at a time, the Lady SaberCats like where they’re at. On top.
“Coach told us we have two choices,” Garcia said. “We’re either in the back seat or the driver’s seat. She asked us what seat we want to be in, and we automatically responded, ‘The driver’s seat.’ We just have to stay up there.”