KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
RIO HONDO—Anytime Rio Hondo and La Feria meet, the emotions are high and the intensity level gets turned up a notch. What had the feel of a playoff game in December; the rivalry lived up to the hype and wrote another chapter in the rivalry.
After Rio Hondo surrendered a 12-point lead with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, La Feria leaned on a suffocating press defense, and Maggie Cavazos who hit a 3-pointer, followed by a game-tying layup 16 seconds left to force overtime.
Rio Hondo’s Ayisha Andrews would miss a potential game-winning bucket in the final seconds, but redeemed herself in the extra period with a go-ahead layup as the Lady Bobcats held on for a 37-31 win in overtime over the Lionettes Friday night in Rio Hondo.
“I was a little nervous at first, coming into tonight,” said Rio Hondo senior Taylor Gomez. “This is a big rivalry. We were a little shaky in the first half, but we got stronger as the game went on. Anytime we play the emotions are going to be high and tonight was a tough grind it out game, but I’m glad we were able to pull through together.”
“This is a big win for us, I was able to make my shots,” she added. “Getting to 2-0 is huge, tonight was tough for sure and as a senior getting this win means so much to me.”
The win puts Rio Hondo atop the district with a 2-0 record and will now meet Hidalgo at home next week. La Feria meanwhile falls to 1-1 and will travel to Progreso on Tuesday.
“This is my first year here in Rio Hondo and I’m new to this rivalry,” said Rio Hondo coach Lori Garcia. “The emotions were high, there were so many mixed emotions tonight, and it was loud and intense. Getting this win is huge, now we will play Hidalgo and we will start preparing for them tomorrow.”
Overcoming the adversity was one thing Garcia was pleased in seeing with her team.
“We pulled together in overtime,” Garcia said. “We got flustered with that press break; we had been doing well before that. They started with a zone and then went to the press and we were a little shocked at first but we made some adjustments. Down the stretch we got smarter with the ball and made the plays when we needed too.”
Gomez was the catalyst to the Rio Hondo offense, as the senior scored a team-high 16 points including a pair of key free throws in overtime that helped put the game out of reach 33-29 with 1:58 remaining in OT.
“Taylor was amazing tonight,” Garcia said. “She was able to find a good rhythm and knocked down her jumpers. She was able to get open, she did a good job of that tonight and my guards do a great job on finding her.”
La Feria never held a lead throughout the night. After a sluggish start to the first half, the Lionettes heated up when it counted. La Feria managed to outscore Rio Hondo 15-6 in the fourth quarter and erased the 12 point deflect.
Cavazos finished with 12 points, while Karina Diaz and Jeno Ochoa scored four points each. Aahiyah Stewart scored six points.