By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Pace Lady Vikings earned their first District 32-5A win of the season behind a big second-half effort to pull away from the Brownsville Lopez Lady Lobos for a 53-39 victory.
Brownsville Pace pushed the tempo of the game and had a number of girls contribute offensively and to a tenacious defense to come out on top. Ashley Gonzalez (16 points), Andie Lomeli-Lozano (11 points) and Maddy Curry (11 points) led the way for a Lady Vikings squad that got a bit stronger each quarter.
“It was a good district win. I tell the girls, wins are great but district wins are even better,” Pace coach Eddie Lozano said. “It’s good to see development in the younger girls, especially because we’ve been off for a while. These girls have been working hard, and you can tell. Little by little, they’re getting better and better, and just learning from their mistakes and contributing on the court.”
Neither team opened the contest with a full-court press, which kept the score tight through the first two quarters. The Lady Vikings held a slim 14-12 lead after the first, and despite briefly trailing during the second quarter, were still in control 24-19 at halftime.
Gonzalez, Lomeli-Lozano and Ana Briones played well to give Pace an early six-point cushion. But Lopez countered with pure effort to chip away and keep the score close. Cielo Chapa (10 points) and Ashly Alonso (six points) drove hard to the basket, and Christy Garcia was solid in the paint as she challenged Pace’s height on the boards.
Fabiola Estrada and Brenda Savariego were solid defensively to help Lopez slow Pace early in the second quarter. Briones and Curry provided the spark to get the Lady Vikings back in control as they fought for rebounds and converted second-chance shots. Chapa hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half, but her Lady Lobos still trailed heading into the locker room.
Pace dominated the third quarter when play resumed to open up its lead to 41-27. Lomeli-Lozano recorded a block and utilized her height to haul in high passes and keep the ball up for points on inbound plays. Ariel Barrientos matched Briones and Curry’s defensive effort, and the trio spearheaded a full-court Pace press that stymied Lopez. They notched steals, which they dished to teammates for easy buckets, as the Lady Lobos forced long passes to try and break the press.
“In the first half we ran just a half-court defense and in the second half we picked it up to a full-court, and give credit to the girls, they hustled,” Lozano said. “They changed their speed in that second half, and it made (Lopez) uneasy. It’s nice to see when defense turns into offense. A lot of our points in the second half was from that, our defense just turned into points. It’s because of that speed.”
Lopez continued to battle hard during the fourth quarter despite the deficit, but at times the Lady Lobos struggled to control their energy. They racked up fouls as they pushed to slow down Pace’s speedy offense, resulting in two key contributors fouling out in the final frame.
Gonzalez left the game temporarily after getting banged up in the second quarter, but that didn’t stop Pace’s leader from putting together a stellar second half. She ran the offense well, scored 12 points and was a defensive force to help the Lady Vikings pull away and seal the win.
Estrada (10 points), Savariego and Kassy Aguirre kept the Lady Lobos fighting. Lopez’s defensive effort never faltered, and Savariego recorded a steal and then made a smart pass to Aguirre, who finished the 3-point play, to cut Pace’s lead to six. Pace’s Curry scored four clutch points to open up things again, and as the clock winded down, Lopez rushed shots that didn’t fall to close out the contest.
“Pace really came back (in the second half) and played some good defense,” Lopez coach Ray Montes said. “Their offense hit some good shots, and that’s what happens. They started hitting some shots, and our shots weren’t going in. We’re a team that just doesn’t give up. We have a leader in Brenda Savariego, and she just keeps pumping everybody up, gets everybody hyped, and that’s what leaders do all the way to the end. We’ll continue working and move on from here, and look forward to our next game.”