MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
To get all of her roster involved, Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez experimented with her lineup early in the team’s matchup with the Brownsville Rivera Lady Raiders.
The move paid off, as the Lady Falcons had four players score in double digits and 10 players score during their 76-33 rout of the Lady Raiders on Tuesday night at Rivera.
Valdez was happy with not only getting the victory but being able to rebound after last Friday night’s loss to Harlingen South, and getting into a good mindset with District 32-6A heavy Harlingen High up next.
“I think it was a great team win, and I think we can continue this momentum the rest of the way,” Valdez said. “We need to keep that whole-team-unit-bond thing going. I think this is some good momentum we started. We have Harlingen High (on) Friday night, which is always a good game, so I think this is great, positive momentum through the team concept.”
Los Fresnos (15-12, 1-1) did not insert its usual lineup until the 5:16 mark of the second quarter, leading 23-17. It mounted a 17-4 run, led by 11 points from Ari Gallardo, to blow the game wide open and make it 42-21 at the break.
During that stretch, Rivera (0-2 in district) managed just one field goal before the half and four the rest of the way.
“We have a young team with two sophomores and two freshmen on the court,” Rivera coach Omar Leal said. “They are very inexperienced at the moment, but they picked up against a very good team in Los Fresnos. They played their hearts out. They gained a lot of experience today, and that’s what varsity basketball is all about. We’re going to learn from our mistakes, and we’re going to move on.”
Los Fresnos’ Olivia Parra led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Gallardo, Sarahi Jones and Clarissa Esquivel with 13 each.
Rivera’s Alondra Guzman netted a team-high 13 points.
The Lady Raiders received a pair of early buckets from Guzman midway through the first quarter as she helped her team to an early 9-7 lead, but the Lady Falcons took control for good with a 13-4 run in which five different players scored to end the first quarter.
Guzman put in a layup to make it 23-17 before Parra answered with a bucket on the other end to start the big run. Moments later, Gallardo checked in, sank a runner and the rout was on.
Rivera recorded just one more field goal with 1:45 to go before halftime, and that was its last until the 3:05 mark of the third quarter. A Maranda Garza layup cut Los Fresnos’ lead to 57-23.
Los Fresnos outscored Rivera 34-12 during the second half.
“We just have to continue to get better,” Valdez said, “Defensively, we’re still a little bit lazy, but I’m proud of the effort. Offensively, we just made layups, so I’m happy that we’re actually hitting where we need to hit.”