By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville IDEA Frontier Lady Chargers added another historic accomplishment to their season by earning the program’s first playoff win with a lopsided 77-10 defeat of Pharr IDEA on Thursday.
Senior point guard Sheyla Cosme had tears in her eyes after the game as she and her teammates cut down the net to celebrate the bi-district victory. Cosme scored a team-high 23 points, recorded 10 steals and dished out seven assists to lead her team to the area round, where Frontier will face Aransas Pass.
“It’s a very exciting feeling. I don’t know how to describe it because we’ve never been in this situation where we get past the first round. We wanted to accomplish this and make history for our school, and we did it today,” Cosme said.
The Lady Chargers dominated the Lady Lions from tipoff to the final buzzer. Their full-court press gave the Lady Lions fits all game, and the defensive effort kept Pharr IDEA from getting any offense going. Cosme and Aracelly Medellin set the tone for Frontier during the first quarter with aggressive defense and strong moves at the bucket to put their team on top 23-5.
“We just wanted to start strong and finish strong, and play our best throughout the game. We were focused and communicating the whole game,” Cosme said. “Our coach had a big role in that because we’ve said since our freshman year he has ‘the speech’ that he gives us, and it motivates us so much and plays a big part in the way we play offense, defense and communicate.”
Frontier’s offensive scheme put a lot on the shoulders of its guards, and Cosme and fellow senior Marissa Gonzales handled the load with ease. They efficiently ran the half-court offense and made smart passes to create scoring opportunities for themselves and teammates. The Lady Chargers made a killing by cutting through the paint behind well-executed screens and consistently finished at the hoop.
“It’s like a dance, we practice the dance and they did a good job executing,” Frontier coach Victor Leija said. “Everybody knew were everybody was going to be, spacing, passing was right. Cut to the basket, that’s one thing last year we lacked. We didn’t do those little things, and now those things are taking us to the next level.”
Gonzales contributed six of her 11 points during the second quarter, but her defensive production was the star. Gonzales played 100 miles per hour, relentlessly swiping steals and forcing turnovers to help Frontier hold Pharr IDEA to one point in the frame. A solid effort down low from sophomore Brittany Rico off the bench and continued strong play from Cosme and Medellin put Frontier on top 44-6 at halftime.
Pharr IDEA’s frustration was visible in the second half. Yaretzi Almaraz, Xiomara Rodriguez, Jessica Rodriguez and Karla Pedraza kept the Lady Lions pushing, but Frontier’s defense was overwhelming. Pharr IDEA only scored two points in each of the final two quarters. Almaraz was the team’s top scorer with six points.
Senior post Alma Medellin scored 14 of her 16 points during the second half as she held down the paint. She was a force down low, recording seven blocks and bringing down 10 rebounds. Aracelly Medellin contributed 11 rebounds, six steals and 15 points. Leija felt it was an all-around team effort that earned the Lady Chargers their historic win, and he believes the dominant performance has his team feeling motivated heading into Round 2.
“The girls deserve it. I’m really proud of them. They work hard, and you can see that on the court with how they’re moving the ball, communicating, all that stuff,” Leija said. “Each round you advance, it gets harder and harder and harder. This right here is just a stepping stone for us to get to the next level, and hopefully they bring the same energy, same intensity in the next round.”
In other East Valley bi-district action, the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats punched their ticket to the second round for the first time since 2014 by defeating Alice 50-39. Santa Maria fell to Port Aransas 40-33 and San Perlita was defeated by D’Hanis 63-39. Harlingen South lost to PSJA North 56-19, and Los Fresnos lost to Edinburg High 54-27.