By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
LA FERIA — The Edinburg Economedes Lady Jaguars defeated the Mercedes Lady Tigers 63-37 to win the Tommie Wiseman tournament Friday evening in La Feria.
The Lady Jaguars jumped on the Lady Tigers quick in the first quarter, opening a 7-3 lead. Mercedes played really well during the first half and competed for every loose ball and contested every Economedes shot.
Mercedes shot well, too, and a nice 3-pointer by lefty Randi Lara gave them a 11-9 lead. Jaymie Flores and Jada Luna had a couple of buckets, and both teams ended up square at 15 to end the first quarter.
Economedes looked nice when they got penetration and finished from mid-range and down low. Jalene Corona hit a few jumpers during the third quarter, and Jasmine Loredo drove to the hoop strong with her left, but shot with her right.
Loredo was the big scorer in the second. Jazlynn Espinoza hit a big 3, and tournament MVP Dana Serna finished at the rim and converted her free throw to give the Lady Jags a 32-25 lead late in the quarter.
Deep shooting kept Mercedes in the game. Cerina Limas and Danielle Barroso hit three big ones to keep pace with Economedes to end the half only down 34-28.
It was all Economedes during the second half. The Lady Jaguars went on a 12-4 run quick in the second half that was capped off with a bucket from Bianca Coronado. Serna found her at the rim with a sweet pass to end the scoring in the quarter up 46-32.
“I am really excited for them, they worked really hard,” Lady Jags coach Mariana Campos said. “We got a little chip on our shoulder, but we are still trying to improve every game. We start district next week, and we grew from this tournament.”
Loredo and her strong penetrating drives took over the fourth, and the Lady Jaguars ran away with the game. They held the Lady Tigers to only nine points in the half as they went on to win the tournament.
“We just told them to stay composed and told them we need to use our defense to get our offense going. I think that is what triggered that second half run,” Campos said.
To get to the final, the Lady Jaguars defeated the La Feria Lionettes. The Lionettes beat Donna High 49-45 to finish in the third place.
Sharyland High took first in the gold bracket, and Santa Maria was first in the silver bracket.