BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
WESLACO — Down 36-35 with 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation, McAllen Memorial owned possession on a frontcourt out-of-bounds play. Memorial’s desperate lob pass down the left sideline was intercepted by Weslaco senior point guard Briana Pena as time expired on Tuesday night at Sepulveda Gym in Weslaco.
The steal was a tragically appropriate way to end a game during which both coaches were anything but pleased with their team’s output.
“This is definitely not the kind of effort that I should get from my team,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “The score may indicate one thing, but we don’t feel like winners tonight. We just didn’t play very well.”
“Our turnovers killed us today,” McAllen Memorial coach Clarisse Arredondo said. “I believe we had 28, and it was just a one-point game. We went 5 for 8 from the free-throw line. I told the girls, toward the end of the game, that it’ll be turnovers and free throws that are going to win or lose this game. It isn’t a player that loses a game, it’s the whole team. It is what it is.”
Senior captain Emily Saenz carried much of Weslaco’s scoring responsibilities early on. The shooting guard scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half, including all seven of the Panthers’ points in the second quarter.
“It was mental toughness,” Saenz said. “Being able to say, ‘I want the ball in my hands,’ and taking over if nothing’s falling. We have to attack the basket and be aggressive.”
Fino had an extended postgame conversation about her team’s effort in the locker room.
“I think it’s us that’s giving us problems,” Fino said. “I just don’t think we’ve found our groove yet. It’s getting extremely difficult, because we’re playing good teams, and Memorial’s a really good team. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. I don’t know how many layups we missed or open looks we didn’t convert on. Those are little bunnies that are ours to take. When we don’t finish those, it can put a dagger through us.”
“We took the W, but at the end of the night, we really didn’t earn it,” Saenz said. “The team effort wasn’t there. We weren’t playing as a team. We’re after the chase of a perfect game, but I think we need to be tougher mentally and physically. It all starts at practice.”
Pena scored six of her nine points in the second half in addition to her game-saving steal.
“It comes down to a lack of focus,” Pena said. “A lot of the girls weren’t really focused throughout the game today. Even our coach pointed that out after the game. … She knew we could have beat this team by leaps and bounds, because we average almost 70 points per game. She ended her talk to us saying, ‘I need my team. I need to find my team.’”
Weslaco improved to 6-1, while Memorial falls to 6-3 on the young season.