PHARR — Blame it on new faces or late-season apathy, but the Mercedes Lady Tigers didn’t appear like themselves.
During the first half of Tuesday’s game against PSJA High, Mercedes came out sluggish. The team was slow to rotate on offense, missed gimmes at the rim and struggled shooting in general.
The second half, however, was vintage Mercedes. The Lady Tigers discovered their shooting touch, zipped the ball around the perimeter for open looks and outmuscled a bigger Lady Bears squad to pull away to a 45-25 victory.
The win helps Mercedes remain perfect in District 32-5A with a 12-0 record and clinches a share of the district title. The team can win it outright with one more victory.
This marks the third district title for Mercedes in as many years.
While the results were familiar, the path to sweeping PSJA High was anything but smooth. Mercedes was without two players due to injury, meaning the insertion of junior guard Brianna Chacon into the starting lineup.
That lack of continuity was one reason points came at a premium. During the first quarter, Mercedes scored a measly six, but managed to hold PSJA High to only five.
With neither team’s offense clicking during the early going, it was defense that was the difference-maker during the first half. Jacklynn Flores scored nine of Mercedes’ 16 points during that span, with many buckets coming in transition off of steals.
“I’ve been working on my defense and my vision during practices,” Flores said. “I’ve been able to look at the guard and just see her eyes and where she’s going to pass the ball.”
Flores finished with a game-high eight steals in addition to 12 points.
But while the junior guard demonstrated her defensive prowess en route to a 16-14 Mercedes halftime lead, the Lady Tigers (24-9, 12-0) were plagued by woeful shooting. Alyssa Marquez, the team’s leading scorer, had just three first-half points, and Victoria Anciso missed all five of her free throws. On several possessions, the ball would stagnate instead of rotate, leading to difficult shots in one-on-one situations.
“We came out a little flat,” Mercedes coach Monica Meza said. “We were definitely out of sync. We had a lot of feet standing still on offense.”
For as clumsy as Mercedes was before halftime, the second half saw a reinvigorated Lady Tigers squad play at such a level so as to remind why it is atop the district standings.
Behind sharp passing, 12 second-half points from Marquez and a continued defensive presence, Mercedes outscored PSJA High 29-11 the rest of the way. Marquez hit a pair of 3-pointers during the third quarter to open things up, including an open shot from the left corner after some tricky footwork left a PSJA High defender on the gym floor.
While the Lady Tigers reestablished their offensive potency, PSJA High (15-15, 8-4) began the second half with a trio of turnovers. On the night, the Lady Bears committed more than 20 turnovers and failed to establish an inside presence against a smaller Mercedes team.
“We were dribbling too much and not looking inside,” PSJA High coach Stephanie Cantu said. “No one was setting screens as well, which makes it harder for us. Credit Mercedes, they’re a good defense. But we didn’t’ do ourselves any favors, either.”
Despite the loss, PSJA High will likely make the postseason. The team is one win away from clinching a playoff berth.