By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — Rivera played its strongest down the stretch because of what was at stake.
The Lady Raiders hit some clutch shots, made a few steals and knocked down a few free throws to hold off a determined Lady Greyhounds squad, and it was good enough to clinch a playoff spot in a 41-37 victory during their District 32-6A girls basketball finale Tuesday.
Darcy Cardenas scored 16 points, including three 3s during first half, and Gisel Hinojosa added 12 points (nine in the first half), seven rebounds and three steals for Rivera, which earned the fourth seed in the postseason.
“We’ve been in playoff mode for the last three ballgames,” Rivera coach Willie Brown said. “We’ve been playing consistent, but (Tuesday) we didn’t have a very good third quarter. We went out and did some uncharacteristic things that we hadn’t been doing for a while. But that’s the one thing we’ve laid our hat on is our defense, even when we didn’t play well against some of the better schools in our district. We were still hustling and getting after it with our defense.”
The teams went back and forth during the first quarter, but Cardenas hit consecutive 3s to give the Lady Raiders a 12-8 lead after one.
Rivera jumped out to a double-digit lead with a 9-0 run during the second quarter as Cardenas and Ulyssa Alvarado each hit 3s and Hinojosa earned a three-point play. San Benito’s Miranda Vallejo scored on a layup to end the run and did her best to keep pace with seven points in the first half, but the Lady Raiders took a 25-15 advantage at halftime.
“We’ve had a really rough season because we’re really young,” San Benito coach Abel Moreno said. “We’ve been really banged up, we have six girls out now.”
Mikayla Garcia got San Benito back in the game during the third quarter. She scored all seven points during a 7-2 stretch to get the Lady Greyhounds within five. But Rivera’s Michelle Morales hit a layup to end the drought and the Lady Raiders led 31-26 after three.
“Every halftime we work with them, we’re looking for something,” Moreno said. “They came out and played hard and did the best they could.”
During the fourth quarter, Garcia knocked down two free throws and Vallejo scored on a layup in transition to pull the Lady Greyhounds within three. Cardenas responded with a free throw and bucket to push the lead back to five. A Garcia 3 got San Benito within two, but clutch free throws from Cardenas and Hinojosa sealed the game and a postseason trip.
“I’m so proud of the senior group,” Brown said. “They hung in there when things weren’t so good at the beginning of the year. They still hung in there and did what they needed to do to get to this point. It’s been a while since Rivera has been in the playoffs. It’s a good feeling.”
Alvarado scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Morales grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lady Raiders.
Despite a trying season, Moreno already is excited for next season.
“The girls are young, they’re all sophomores and juniors, so they’ll all going to come back,” he said. “They’re really trying to figure themselves out. We’re really excited. We’re already getting ready and revved up for next season, working every day.”
Garcia finished with a game-high 19 points and five rebounds, and Vallejo added 11 points. Alysa Naranjo pulled down seven rebounds for San Benito.
Brown said the team made a promise early in the season and it has paid off.
“That’s why we’re in the position we’re in now,” he said. “They have made a commitment to do the little things we asked them to do to put themselves in this situation. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of those young ladies.”
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.