By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial found its offense early and often against Harlingen South.
The Lady Chargers’ Jordan Rudd had 20 points and Briana Cortez added 15 as Brownsville Veterans’ offensive outburst led to a 19-point lead at the break during a 61-47 win over the Lady Hawks in the District 32-6A opener for both teams Friday night at Brownsville Veterans.
Rudd finished with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Lady Chargers never trailed in the beginning of the district season.
“Jordan came out hot, but she was distributing the ball really well,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “We’ve been working on spacing, we were a whole lot better to get more opportunities. Overall, everyone contributed, but Jordan’s play opened up the game for everyone else which helped (get a lead).”
Brownsville Veterans used a big run to start each of the first three quarters and push the lead to as many as 27 points. The Lady Chargers started the game on a 7-0 run, then went on a 12-0 run to start the second quarter and an 8-0 run in the third quarter to pull away.
Rudd had a bucket followed by a Cortez 3, and Krista Lopez had a layup assisted by Rudd as Brownsville Veterans started the game on a 7-0 run. Later, Lopez hit two free throws to push the lead to 13-3, and Haley Allen hit a 3-pointer to make it 20-10 late in the first.
Cortez had a 3-pointer and a free throw, and Rudd hit a runner and added a layup to fuel a 12-0 start to the second quarter. Harlingen South’s Kaylan Whitis hit a jumper to stop the scoreless drought with 2:46 to go in the half. Brownsville Veterans used defensive pressure to push the lead to 20 with less than two minutes left in the second.
“We couldn’t hold on to the ball, turnovers hurt us a lot,” Harlingen South coach Kelly Garrett said. “We just had breakdowns defensively. We had 17 turnovers at halftime. You’re never going to win with that.
“We were struggling. We weren’t hitting the broad side of the barn, it was not a good shooting night for us.”
Rudd continued to have a hot hand during the third quarter. The junior guard had eight points, including back-to-back buckets and another layup to fuel an 8-0 run to start the second half. Christina Montez’s jumper stopped the Lady Chargers’ run, but Brownsville Veterans took a 54-28 lead after three.
Lopez finished with nine points and three steals, and Hannah Meyers had eight points and six rebounds for the Lady Chargers.
Harlingen South found its offense with 19 points during the fourth quarter, led by Montez, who had 10 of her team-high 12 points after halftime. Breanna Gonzalez had a few free throws down the stretch to cut the deficit to 14, but surge was too late to catch up with Brownsville Veterans.
“We talked at halftime, you can fold or you can fight and show what you really have, and they fought to the end,” Garrett said. It shows we’re capable to fighting back and not giving up, so that’s a great thing.”
Montez added seven rebounds and Gonzalez finished with 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals for the Lady Hawks.
The Lady Chargers were happy to start district play with positives on offense and defense. Brownsville Veterans had 15 steals that led to several points in transition and other scoring opportunities.
“Our slogan this year is take care of unfinished business and this is one stumbling block down, so we have 13 more to go,” Paz said. “I think the girls came ready to play.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.