By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
After one round of the girls basketball playoffs, two Brownsville teams are still alive.
They are Brownsville Veterans Memorial in Class 5A and Brownsville Jubilee in Class 3A.
Both teams play on the road for their area-round games today.
District 32-5A champion Brownsville Veterans (30-5) takes on District 30-5A third-place Victoria East (26-9) at 8 p.m. at Texas A&M-Kingsville. District 32-3A champion Jubilee (24-9) goes against District 29-3A runner-up Aransas Pass (22-9) at 6 p.m at H.M. King High School in Kingsville.
The Lady Chargers are coming off a 61-39 bi-district victory against PSJA Memorial.
“What stood out to me (about our bi-district win) was our defensive effort,” Lady Chargers coach Arnold Torres said. “We did a great job helping in the low post, as well as our defensive rotation on penetration. We also did a good job of scoring transition points when they became available.
“Victoria East, our next opponent, is quick and very athletic with presence on the inside,” Torres added. “I feel that we match up well, and the team that can minimize its mistakes will take the victory. I am excited for our girls and this opportunity.”
Jubilee is excited as well about its next game after defeating San Diego 63-32 on bi-district.
The Lady Titans are playing their first school year in UIL after coming over from charter school competition.
“I think this (bi-district) win gives the girls more confidence because now they know what to expect at the UIL playoffs level,” Jubilee coach Victor Venegas said. “This was a huge win for us and our school because no one gave us a chance. But our girls believe in themselves and they know how to compete against anyone now.”
32-6A UPDATE
Two of four District 32-6A girls teams playing in the Class 6A bi-district playoffs were victorious earlier this week.
District 32-6A champion Harlingen High (31-7) routed Donna North 68-15, and 32-6A No. 2 seed Los Fresnos (23-14) defeated Edinburg Vela 48-37.
The two 32-6A teams that were eliminated were Harlingen South, 54-43 by Weslaco High, and Brownsville Hanna, 65-37 by Edinburg High.
The Lady Cardinals and Lady Falcons now move on to today’s area round.
Harlingen High takes on District 29-6A runner-up Laredo United South (13-12) at 7 p.m. at Rio Grande City. The Lady Falcons go against District 29-6A champion Laredo United at 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Ray.
Today’s winners advance to next week’s third round of the playoffs.
OTHER GAMES
In other second-round games involving area teams, Lyford played Odem in a Class 3A game Thursday in Alice. In Class 2A matchups today, Santa Maria plays Shiner at 6 p.m. in Corpus Christi and San Perlita goes against Weimar at 7 p.m. at Taft.