By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
St. Joseph Academy wasted no time showing Lyford how strong it can be on defense.
The Lady Bloodhounds’ defense, led by Caroline Del Pozo, piled up 20 steals and built a first half lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 54-34 victory over the Lady Bulldogs in a non-district girls basketball game Friday.
Del Pozo finished with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, four rebounds, three assists and a team-high six steals to lead the way on defense as St. Joseph stifled Lyford’s offense in the first half.
“Coach always reminds us that defense is extremely important so when we went out there we said defense is key for (Friday’s) game,” Del Pozo said. “This helped the girls come together and it was definitely a confidence booster.”
In the opening quarter after the team’s traded baskets, the Lady Bloodhounds went on a 12-0 run that was highlighted by a jumper by Maria Del Pozo, a layup in transition by Lauren Salazar and a putback by Allison Stachowiak to give them a 14-2 advantage. The Lady Bulldogs’ Cassey Amaya answered with a 3, but that was it for Lyford as St. Joseph was too tough defensively and took a 17-5 lead after one.
“Our weapon has to be our defense,” St. Joseph coach Nora Zamarripa said. “Our defense has to dictate our scoring and that’s what we’ve been focusing on … up the tempo and forcing turnovers.”
In the second quarter after the Lady Bulldogs’ Hannah Perez hit a pair of free throws, the Lady Bloodhounds went on an 8-0 run as Stachowiak hit a jumper from about 12 feet and Salazar had a three-point play to give them a 25-7 edge. Lyford couldn’t get going on offense and only managed a couple free throws as St. Joseph continued its aggressive defense and took a 29-9 lead into the break.
“We weren’t taking care of the ball, we weren’t able to run our offense,” Lyford coach Teresa Gutierrez said. “Coach Zamarripa has them running a tight defense, they were up on us the whole time, so we got a little tentative with the ball. I think we were a little flat (in the first half).”
The Lady Bulldogs finally got on track in the third quarter. Jessica Mendez opened the second half with a 3 and after Caroline Del Pozo hit a jumper for the Lady Bloodhounds, Lyford used a 6-0 run to get within 31-18. St. Joseph answered with back-to-back jumpers by Tania Garcia and a layup by Caniela Martinez for a 37-20 edge. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to cut it to 12, but Maria Del Pozo hit a pair of free throws to end the third.
The Lady Bloodhounds kept up the pressure in the fourth quarter. Caroline Del Pozo started with a 3 and Gisele Sampayo hit a layup to push the lead to 44-28. Mendez hit a pair of free throws as Lyford tried to comeback, but St. Joseph went on a 10-4 run highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Garcia to seal the win.
Stachowiak finished with 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks and Garcia added 10 points — all in the second half — and five boards for the Lady Bloodhounds.
Mendez finished with seven points, four rebounds and a pair of steals and Jackie Santillana also had seven points, four rebounds and three steals for the Lady Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, the season has been up-and-down for Lyford.
“We always come out flat and then in the second half we’re better,” Gutierrez said. “The inconsistency has been a little weary, but I think we’ll be ok in district.”
As St. Joseph continues TAPPS district play next week, it hopes to continue to use its defense as one of its strongest weapons.
“I think our defense can make a big impact, but we have to be smarter so we don’t get in foul trouble,” Zamarripa said. “We need to focus on our rebounding. Defense can be a constant because some nights that ball isn’t going to fall when you shoot … and we think that that can help us.”
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.