BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION — The Mission Veterans Lady Patriots knew that there was no stopping talented Sharyland High post Anna Marshall.
But if they played a sagging zone defense, limited fast break points and got a really cold night from the Lady Rattlers’ outside shooters — they figured that would give them a chance.
And that’s exactly what the Lady Patriots did on their way to hard-fought 36-32 District 31-5A victory over the Sharyland High Lady Ratters. Marshall — the Valley’s leading scorer at 22 points per game — was shut out during the second half and ended up with just 14.
Veterans’ defense wasn’t just focused on Marshall. The Lady Patriots harassed Sharyland’s normally potent guards and disrupted the Rattlers’ offense with a very active zone defense.
“We were talking a lot, communicating. We were helping. We had backside help. We made sure and kept an eye on her at all times,” senior Andrea de la Garza said of Veterans’ defense of Marshall. “We knew we had to win this game, because this is a really close district. We are all tied, and there’s a lot people fighting for a playoff position.”
The win improved Mission Veterans to 4-3 in district and 12-13 overall. Sharyland is now 4-3 and 18-10.
Meanwhile, on offense, Veterans’ Gaby Gallardo scored 10 points on a trio of 3-pointers and Lyndsey Garza added 9 more points to lead the Patriots in a methodical contest that often moved at snail’s pace.
After Veterans built a 30-27 lead during the fourth quarter, the teams combined for just three field goals during the next 7 minutes of game time.
Sharyland tied the game at 30 on an Aydee Hinojosa 3-pointer, but Veterans responded with a triple of its own from Gallardo 2 minutes later. The Lady Patriots spread the floor and ran out the clock for most of the rest of the game to seal the victory.
And while Veterans kept Marshall in check (she still pulled down 14 rebounds and had four blocks), what really impacted Sharyland was its frigid perimeter shooting. Sharyland’s normally resilient starting backcourt went a combined 6 for 21 from the floor.
“We just executed defensively and executed our game plan much like we did Friday against Rio Grande City. We did everything possible to win that one but it didn’t come out that way in the end, but we executed our game plan,” Veterans coach Rafael Cantu said. “The girls were disciplined and determined to do the same thing. Sharyland is big, has a lot of size and is physical. I just told them we have to do the same thing again.”
Sharyland coach Dale Whitaker said the double and triple teams on Marshall and lack of outside shooting hurt the Rattlers. Sharyland did have some good movement of the ball that led to easy baskets, especially in the second quarter, during which it scored 13 points. But it just couldn’t get going in the second half, during which the Lady Rattlers netted 13 points.
“They did a good job of shutting down our big girl, especially in the second half. They had two girls on her all the time,” said Whitaker. “And when you can’t hit from the outside, where we really struggled, that’s what happens. We also need to score points in transition. In the first half, we got some of those fast-break points, but in the second half we could not generate any.”