KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SAN PERLITA — Trailing by 12 points late in the third quarter, San Perlita coach Marco Mungia had a simple message, and that was to relax, to not overthink things.
The Lady Trojans did just that and fed off an 11-point fourth quarter from Megan Kinney for a 59-55 come-from-behind win over Santa Maria. Later, the San Perlita boys defeated Santa Maria 75-48.
The win will have Lady Trojans fans talking for some time. Kinney finished with a team-high 20 points, and Alyssa Garcia netted 12 points for San Perlita.
“After that run they went on, it was a matter of, ‘How will we respond?’” Mungia said. “We knew they would go on a run, they are the defending district champions for a reason. Our girls persevered and never gave in. One thing we have been working on this year was our mental toughness, and the girls showed that tonight.”
San Perlita managed to cut the lead to five points twice during the fourth quarter, and Karina Rojas’ basket tied the game at 53. Kinney and Elisa Nieto’s free throws helped ice the game during the final seconds.
San Perlita improved to 3-2 in district play and handed Santa Maria its first district loss at 4-1.
After a turbulent 2017 season in which the Lady Trojans won one district game, Tuesday’s win will be looked at as one that helped turn around the program.
“These girls have been down by so much, it was like they were in a sinkhole that they could not get out of,” Mungia said. “But the mentality is different, the girls never give up. Heart and hustle is our team motto, and tonight it was on full display.”
Said Rojas, “This is such an amazing feeling. All the work we put in from last year till now is paying off. We struggled so much last year, and for us to be able to play the way we are now is amazing.”
For Santa Marina, Yazmin Cantu scored a game-high 28 points, and Michelle Almazan finished with 11.
Despite the loss, the Lady Cougars remain in first place.
After a seesaw first half, Santa Maria came out swinging during the third quarter. Cantu scored nine third-quarter points and helped fuel a 13-0 lead. The Lady Cougs led by as much as 44-32 late in the third quarter.
Trojans roll past Cougars
In the boys game, the Trojans needed a win and got one in a big way. The trio of Tige Johnson, Julian Herrera and EJ Nieto proved to be too much for Santa Maria, as San Perlita steamrolled to a 75-48 win Tuesday night.
“The guys came out with speed tonight and wanted to finish the first round of district play on a positive note,” Trojans coach Nataniel Garza said. “We wanted to have that momentum heading into the second half, and one thing we stress here is effort and energy, and the guys came out and set the tone early.”
Herrea led the offense with a nine-point first quarter and went on to score 23 points. Johnson dished a game-high 24 points, Julian Herrera scored 23 points and Nieto netted 15 points in the win.
San Perlita led by as much as 15 points in the second half and did not let up. Bryan Herrera scored five third-quarter points.
The Trojans’ win puts them at 4-1 in district play, and will play Lasara on Tuesday. San Perlita also remains in the hunt for a district title, with a rematch with San Isidro looming.
“We have seen a change in the way we played,” Johnson said. “Before the game against San Isidro we were good, but not good enough. That loss to San Isidro has motivated us to come out stronger, and we feel we are playing better basketball.”