By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Three teams remain at the end of the girls basketball season and are ready to begin the University Interscholastic League postseason.
Los Fresnos, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Pace are set to begin the playoffs this week.
The Lady Falcons, who finished fourth in District 32-6A, face District 31-6A champion Edinburg High in a Class 6A bi-district game at 7 p.m. Monday in Los Fresnos.
Both the Lady Chargers and Lady Vikings play in neutral locations at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Brownsville Veterans, the District 32-5A champion, squares off against Cigarroa (Laredo) in a Class 5A bi-district game at the Ringgold Middle School in Rio Grande City. Pace, the fourth seed in District 32-5A, matches up against Nixon (Laredo) (who won the District 31-5A title) in a Class 5A bi-district game at Grulla High School.
Los Fresnos earned its first playoff berth since the 2014-15 season with first-year coach, Rebecca Valdez. The Lady Falcons won 5 of 7 games in the second half of district play to earn their spot. Los Fresnos now faces a 30-win Edinburg High, who went a perfect 14-0 in district.
“I’m grateful to Los Fresnos for giving me the opportunity, it’s a great place to work,” Los Fresnos Rebecca Valdez coach said. “It was an easy transition because the kids worked so hard. The girls have done extremely well adapting to change and I’m thankful they took me in and we have our own little family here … I’m blessed.”
The Lady Falcons, led by sophomore Ari Gallardo (18.5 points per game) and senior Britney Ruiz (9.7), aren’t showing any signs of fear though.
“Edinburg High is a great team. We’ve been watching film and they’re big, it’s something we haven’t played in awhile,” Valdez said. “We’re up for the fight … our district was a fight every game, so that’s an advantage for us because we’re used to fighting and having to comeback.
“We’ve fought for every game this season.”
The Lady Falcons coach is happy to be at home for the postseason game.
“Los Fresnos is a great place and the community has shown a lot of support,” Valdez said. “I think it’s an advantage for us being home because the kids get so hyped up being home … it’s a great environment.”
Brownsville Veterans lost just once in District 32-5A and earned its second straight district title, and looks to return to the second round or further this season.
“I think a lot of people didn’t expect us to accomplish much losing the number of girls we lost,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “We played a lot of tough teams at the beginning of the season. We took our lumps, but it helped the young girls grow up and get better. I think we have pretty good momentum, we just have to keep working hard.”
For the Lady Chargers, senior Hannah Meyers (13.6 points) and sophomore Lizzie Garza (10.3) led the way on offense and defense, both average better than three steals per game. They will be tested against Cigarroa, who earned a district title and went to the third round of the playoffs a year ago.
“For us, nothing changes, it’s still about defense,” Paz said. “(Cigarroa) has experience and we’re going to play harder than we have (this season) to keep up with their talent level. The team that defends the best is going to win. If you can defend well, you can give yourself opportunities. Our defense is our best offense.”
Brownsville Veterans tries to continue its legacy left by a talented senior class last year that included standout, Jordan Rudd. Paz reminded his team of that team’s accomplishments this week in practice.
“Everything on the wall and in that (trophy) case belongs to someone else,” he said. “But it’s your job to upkeep it and you do it one possession at a time.
“We’re going to try to seize the moment.”
Pace is led by sophomore Sofia Espinoza (7.4 points) and junior Lexy Arce (6.7) and returns to the postseason after it advanced to the second round a year ago, but it wasn’t easy.
“We adapted to the players we have and their strengths and what they can do,” Pace coach Eddie Lozano said. “We’re still young, but we kept that mentality (to reach the postseason) all year.”
The Lady Vikings are a junior-heavy squad and looks to continue their success next year as well, but first faces a tough task against a 31-win team that went unscathed through district play.
Lozano said it’s going to take an effort on both sides of the ball.
“We have to be patient on offense and limit our turnovers,” he said. “(Nixon) is very good defensive, they make you pay. On defense, we have to rebound; they’re good at offensive rebounding.
“Hopefully, we can keep it close for four quarters and come out with a win.”
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.