KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Anytime Harlingen High and McAllen Memorial meet on the hardwood, the intensity and physicality rises.
Their second meeting of the regular season was no different.
Harlingen High needed every ounce to grind past McAllen Memorial 65-56 on Tuesday night. Ariel Leal and Bianca Rodriguez each scored 16 points to help guide the Lady Cards to their 12th win of the season, improving their record to 12-3.
“It is always hard to beat a team twice, but what it comes down to is how well you prepare for it,” Lady Cards coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “The way we have our schedule set up, is to where we are playing tough teams every night, there is not one easy team on our schedule, and every team we have played has been competitive.”
After winning the first matchup, Harlingen High managed to set the tone early by jumping out to 20-14 lead early and was backed by Leal’s five first-quarter points. Leal hit a 3 at the buzzer to help give the Lady Cards the momentum they needed.
“It helps us big time,” Leal said. “When you make a shot like that at the buzzer, it gives us momentum and confidence heading into the next quarter.”
The Lady Cards led 40-29 at the half, with the Lady Mustangs cutting into the lead 30-25 midway through the second quarter.
Tani Talamantez netted 13 points for McAllen Memorial, which battled back during the third quarter and took advantage of Harlingen High’s miscues to trim the lead to 50-44. Valeria Garcia finished with a game-high 23 points and helped fuel the big third quarter for Memorial.
“I think we set the tone early this time around,” Moncivaiz said. “The first time we played we did not set the tone, we got off to a slow start and it was in a tournament. This time we came in more prepared.”
Like Leal’s 3-pointer to end the first quarter, Rodriguez hit a 3 during the final seconds of the third quarter, once again swinging the momentum back in Harlingen High’s favor, 55-44.
“It makes a huge difference, if we can score from the outside it then opens up the lanes for us to go to the basket,” Moncivaiz said. “That is something that (Ariel) did not have last year and is something she has improved on.”
Harlingen High’s defense clamped down during the final minutes and helped seal the win for the Lady Cards. Along with setting the tempo early, their defense was something Moncivaiz was pleased with.
“Our defense and the way we attacked to the basket, those two things helped us down the stretch,” Moncivaiz said. “We have to be aggressive on the fast breaks, and we did that tonight and our defense made some stops.”
Up next for Harlingen High is the Border Olympics. The Lady Cards will tip off Thursday against San Antonio Edison. McAllen Memorial (8-2) will play host to Sharyland Pioneer on Dec. 4.