BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
Donna High coach Kevin Kromer believes his team’s 15-14 overall record is deceiving.
“We pretty much played a 6A schedule,” Kromer said. “We went up to Floresville for a tournament (in preseason) and a lot of scores ended in one-, two- or three-point losses against some 6A schools. Our defense has really come together pretty well, and our offense is starting to click as far as what I’d like to see.”
The strong non-district schedule helped Donna prepare for the difficult opponents the team would face during district play.
“I like to schedule tough, if they can handle it,” Kromer said. “I don’t think you can just take a bunch of rookies out and have them get killed every night. I do think if you’ve got the talent, you need to push them.
“I think my girls weren’t sure about what kind of team they could be early on in the season. And then they kind of surprised themselves with how well they were playing against the 6As. Playing them close gave us a lot of confidence when we hit district.”
Juniors Miranda Sandoval and Brianna Quesada are Donna’s top two scorers and a big reason for the team’s 5-1 start to the district season. Donna will face yet another test on Friday as it will take a road trip to face the defending district champions from Brownsville Veterans. The Chargers are 6-0 and stand alone in first place.
“We played them earlier this year in the McAllen Memorial tournament and it felt like a playoff atmosphere,” Kromer said. “They’re going to be tough. We can’t afford to make any mistakes against them. They know how to win, and they’re not going to be intimidated by us. We’ll need to be sharp.”