BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — The Mercedes Lady Tigers won their fifth straight game, and kept their district record pristine Friday night with a 49-30 victory at PSJA High School against the Lady Bears.
Mercedes maintained a double-digit lead for much of the contest and scored at will for long stretches in the second half. Despite the comfortable win, Mercedes coach Marissa Gutierrez remained unimpressed.
“I thought we played sloppy,” she said.
And Deidra Barroso has the swollen lip to prove it. The senior guard suffered the minor laceration on the game’s opening play, receiving a wayward elbow to the mouth while fighting for a rebound.
“I pulled my jersey over my mouth hoping coach wouldn’t see (the blood) and take me out,” Barroso said.
Barroso scored 11 points in addition to grabbing four rebounds, and could often be seen swarming to the ball along with her teammates while playing defense. The Lady Tigers forced 41 turnovers leading to easy buckets in transition.
“We have a really fast team,” Barroso said. “Our coach calls us the Fast Five when she puts us in. We’re big and we get a lot of steals.”
Mercedes took a 16-6 lead into the beginning of the first quarter and controlled the pace of the game before the Lady Bears (8-16, 3-2 District 32-5A) cut the lead to two points with a run of their own. Guards Mariah West and Elisa Gracia combined to score 11 points, 5 of which came from the foul line, and made the score 20-18 in the second quarter. The Lady Bears would never be closer.
“I told the girls we played one good quarter,” PSJA High coach Stephanie Cantu said. “We were close and then we made a couple of turnovers and suddenly we were in a hole again.”
The Lady Tigers (15-8, 5-0) exited halftime with a renewed focus on defense.
“(Coach) told us to stop relaxing and to keep playing our game,” senior guard Jackie Flores said. Flores scored a game-high 12 points, including a 6-point burst in the third quarter to extend Mercedes’ lead to 41-28 entering the fourth quarter.
For what the Lady Tigers possess in perimeter speed, they also have in height. Senior center Summer Vento routinely flustered PSJA High’s many attempts to establish an inside game, rejecting several shot attempts.
“I kept asking my girls why they didn’t see the 6-foot girl in the middle,” Cantu said.
Vento would finish with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Though four weeks remain in the regular season, the Lady Tigers sit atop their district with high hopes for a post-season run.
“I think we’re coming together as a group and we’re getting stronger,” Flores said. “I feel we can stay at the top if we stay together.”