MERCEDES — Heading toward the halftime break, the McAllen High Bulldogs and Mercedes Tigers were both looking for their own big run to help break open a tight back-and-forth game.
Following a miss and defensive rebound on the other end, the Bulldogs’ point guard pushed the ball up court and rifled a bounce pass to center Celina Saenz in the low post. Saenz turned and hit the outer rim before grabbing her own miss and going back up with another shot.
McHi forward Addy Fleishmann corralled the rebound and had her follow up shot tipped into the hands of Sanez, who fired a dart to Garza racing toward the rim for an easy two. Fleishmann, Saenz and the Bulldogs bullied the Tigers on the board from that point forward and scored several second-chance points, as McHi notched a 48-39 victory over Mercedes on Monday afternoon.
“I think our rebounds on the offensive and defensive end are what kept us going,” Saenz said. “We got the ball and returned it back to our point guard. That’s what ran our offense getting the ball back out to her.”
“I know when that ball goes up, I’m going to have either Addy or Celina getting that junk and putting it right back up, so that’s key,” McHi head coach Stephanie Cantu said. “My guards feel a little better too. Yes, they missed a shot, but they know that their teammates have their back and they’re able to put it back up for them.”
The Bulldogs and Tigers traded blow for blow in the early going in what appeared to be a battle of the bigs from the jump. Both teams struggled to hit shots from the outside in the opening quarter, which led each side to relentlessly drive the lane and feed players in the post.
Fleishmann and Saenz were powering McHi offensively in the early going, but it was Mercedes forward Mika Vento who shined the brightest down low. Vento beat the Bulldogs’ guards on drives from the top of the key and was able to finish through contact in the paint.
She finished the afternoon with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, while guards Mallory Noriega and Cerina Lima added 11 and four points, respectively.
“She’s a four-year returner. We ran a lot of offense through her,” Mercedes head coach Santiago Rivas said of Vento. “Overall it was a good game for us. We got better and we had one of our starters out, so I got to see some of our other girls and they did well.”
Garza exited the game with a team-leading nine points at the start of the second quarter with an ankle injury that forced McHi to change its schematic approach defensively and its offensive focus.
That’s when Fleishmann and Saenz rose to the occasion, and the Bulldogs started to box out the Tigers on the boards. The duo accounted for a combined 27 rebounds to help reignite the team’s offense with plenty of second chance scoring opportunities.
In total, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 37-19. With their success on the glass, Fleishmann and Saenz were also able to limit Vento’s impact and make Mercedes pay for their misses on the perimeter.
“I saw they didn’t have a lot of size and I have girls right now that can jump through the roof, especially Celina since she’s a volleyball player,” Cantu said. “Our kids are doing a good job of crashing the boards and getting those rebounds and putting them back up when we need it.”
Mercedes tried mixing up its defensive sets and switched between a 1-3-1 zone and man-to-man defense, but the team was unable to slow down Fleishman or Saenz’s physical play in the post.
Saenz tallied a team-high 17 rebounds and nine points, while Fleishmann notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
“We tried at the end to see if we could get something, a steal or a turnover.” Rivas said. “It was a good test for us, and we’ll continue to mix it up.”
When Garza returned to the game in the third quarter, it allowed McHi to return to its full court press and play more aggressively again defensively. The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers and used the resulting transition buckets to put the Tigers away for good.
“I stress defense, and we do a lot of defensive work every day at practice, that’s the main thing that we do. I told them, ‘Offense is going to win us some games, but we’re looking for championships,’ and that’s why we stress defense a lot,” Cantu said. “We didn’t get to press today; when Genesis our point guard went down, I said, ‘Let’s lay off the press a little bit.’ But even our press created a little bit of havoc, so that’s really what we’re looking for.”
Garza recorded a team-high 17 points on 40% shooting from the floor and 3-point land. She, Fleishmann and Saenz all cracked double digits as eight Bulldogs scored on the afternoon.
“I keep telling the girls we have a lot of weapons that we can use and it’s a lot harder when the other team has to stop all five people, no matter who is on the court for us versus just one or two players,” Cantu said. “We stress a lot of teamwork, look for each other, work for each other and play for each other, so it’s good that we’ve had more than one girl in double figures.”
McHi will return to action to face Donna North at 11:30 this morning in Donna, while Mercedes will go head-to-head against Harlingen South at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday in Mercedes.