McALLEN — After completing one of the Rio Grande Valley’s turnaround seasons on the court in 2019-20, the McAllen Rowe Warriors picked up right where they left off as high school basketball made its official return across the RGV over the weekend.
Rowe became one of the Valley’s biggest girls basketball storylines last season, as the team improved its record by more than 20 wins to nab District 30-6A’s final playoff berth.
But despite moving into a new district and spending nine months away from competitive hoops due to an offseason defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Warriors made a statement win by blowing past the San Benito Greyhounds in a dominant 48-23 victory in the team’s home opener Saturday afternoon in McAllen.
“We’re very grateful. There were times when we didn’t know what was going to happen. I know we were able to practice for a couple of days over the summer, but then the case (count) got a little bit worse, so we’re just grateful to be back,” McAllen Rowe head coach Alex Robles said. “Yesterday after the first game that was my message (to the team). I didn’t think with how things were going that we were going to get to have the opportunity to have this, but we’re blessed. We’re blessed to be able to play here in the Valley.
“That goes to show how much we’ve done and we’re doing to make sure our players are safe while we’re participating this year.”
The Warriors (2-0), who also won their season opener Friday at La Joya High, controlled the tempo against the Greyhounds from the opening tip.
San Benito (0-1) knocked down an early 3-pointer to score the first points of the game, but Rowe’s physical defense threw the Greyhounds’ offense into a frenzy.
That early offensive confusion for the Greyhounds gave the Warriors several steals from jumping passing lanes and wresting the ball away from San Benito’s guards around the top of the 3-point arc.
That led to ample opportunities for Rowe in the fastbreak and the team took advantage by outsourcing the Greyhounds 12-1 during the last 6 minutes of the first quarter.
“Last year we didn’t press much, but you saw today we pressed quite a bit in the first half and yesterday against La Joya,” Robles said. “Defensively the last two years we’ve always been really good about moving our feet, being in the right situations and making things tough on other teams.”
On the offensive end of the floor, however, Rowe played with a decidedly different pace.
The Warriors took a slower, more patient and deliberate approach on offense, determined not to waste possessions. In the first half, the center Yulissa Yebra, power forward Kayla Menchaca and the rest of Rowe’s post players were a big reason for the team’s early success.
Yebra, Menchaca and the Warriors’ post players’ off-ball movement created space for them to deliver some crisp interior passes that allowed Rowe’s guards to drive to the rim and initiate contact in the paint.
On top of creating scoring opportunities, the Warriors’ offensive approach helped them rack up trips to the free throw line where they cashed in on 15 of 30 attempts.
“I liked our execution when we’re patient and slow down offensively,” Robles said. “Our key for this year, for us, is going to be to grow more offensively, be a little more patient and get to our spots. Our last two games have been that.”
Rowe carried a decisive lead into halftime and continued to pour it on after the break, leading by as much as 29 at the end of the third quarter.
Yebra, Menchaca and Alexys Delgado led the way for the Warriors in the second half.
On the offensive end, the trio dominated on the low block scoring often with post moves and gaining a big advantage in second-chance points and offensive rebounds over the Greyhounds.
As a team, Rowe outrebounded San Benito 32-15, but a majority of that difference came on the defensive end where the Warriors shined down the stretch.
Point guard Destiny Menchaca was a defensive dynamo on the perimeter forcing a game-high six steals and sealing off the paint for the Greyhound guards.
San Benito had trouble establishing rhythm on the offensive side thanks to Menchaca’s defensive play up top and Yebra and center Miriam De Leon’s towering presence down low, which cornered the Greyhounds into shooting contested 3-pointers to try to close the gap.
The biggest takeaway for Rowe, though, was the balance and depth the team showed in routing a pair of Class 6A opponents after making the switch to District 31-5A this year.
The team shot 53% from the floor overall and 10 Warriors scored. Delgado tallied a team-high 11 points on 83% shooting, while Yebra added nine points and five rebounds.
“My main thing is that we got a chance to get on the court. It’s going to take some time, but I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen these first two days,” Robles said. “We’re trying to get everybody involved even more. We feel if we can get our posts going, it’s going to open up our guards and vice versa. If we play defensively the way that we have and get out in transition like we did today and yesterday at times, I feel that we’ll be a more complete team than last year and keep other teams off-balance with what we’re doing.”
San Benito guard Lorena Segura tallied a team-high 16 points and three rebounds.
The Warriors will return to action when they travel to face the Weslaco High Panthers in a non-district game at 6 p.m. Tuesday, while the Greyhounds will host the Brownsville Veterans Chargers in their next game at the same time Tuesday.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch