By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Rivera had trouble from the beginning with the defensive pressure from Weslaco High.
The Lady Raiders couldn’t get going offensively as the Lady Panthers kept up the pressure on defense and shut down Rivera in the 56-12 victory during a District-32-6A game Tuesday at Rivera.
“It’s our youth, the maturity isn’t there yet,” Rivera coach Willie Brown said. “They’re trying to figure out how to play at this level. It’s a big step from playing freshmen ball to varsity ball.”
Mayra Martinez led a young Rivera squad with six points, including five in the opening quarter and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Lady Raiders (8-14 overall, 0-4 in District 32-6A) were held to just three points after halftime.
Rivera, who graduated nearly all of its experience last season, had it show against a talented Weslaco High team that captured the 31-6A district title and topped the Lady Raiders in the playoffs last season. The Lady Panthers forced multiple turnovers and tallied 15 steals that led to points in transition from the opening whistle against a sophomore-heavy Rivera squad.
“The game plan was to smother them defensively and it would create good looks for us offensively,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “That first group came out on fire defensively and they put the ball in the hole. It created a lot of opportunities for our entire team.
“That’s what we needed and that’s what we wanted.”
Weslaco High (18-7, 3-1) began the game with an 11-0 surge until Martinez hit a 3-pointer to get the Lady Raiders on the board. But the Lady Panthers pushed the lead to 10 by the end of the first quarter.
After Weslaco High scored the first few points in the second quarter, a bucket by Ashley Hinojosa kept the Lady Raiders within striking distance. But the Lady Panthers used a mixture of full court pressure and zone defense and finished the quarter on an 8-2 run to push the lead to 26-9 at the break.
After halftime, Weslaco High didn’t let up on defense and held Rivera to just three points in the third quarter, a free throw by Martinez and a basket by Hinojosa, and shut them out in the final quarter in the district victory.
Hinojosa finished with four points and a pair of rebounds and Alexandra Gonzalez added two points, two rebounds and a pair of steals for Rivera.
Emily Saenz finished with 10 points, four rebounds and five assists and Kirsten Padilla came off the bench for 10 points, including two three-point plays and three rebounds and Brianna Pena and Gabriella Garza combined for 14 points, 11 boards, three assists and seven steals for Weslaco High.
After dropping its last district game to Harlingen High, Weslaco High got back on track.
“This was a good win, we’re taking everything one game at a time,” Fino said. “We need to move into the right direction … we need to improve and keep moving forward. (Tuesday) was a start in the right direction.”
Rivera continues to struggle with its inexperience, but the Lady Raiders get a little better with each district game.
“They have the ability, it’s just more mental,” Brown said. “It will have to come with game experience. We’re not there mentally yet.
“We’re going to stay positive and try to move on.”
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.