By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
FALFURRIAS — The Corpus Christi Flour Bluff Lady Hornets outpaced the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers 51-40 to claim an area-round victory.
The Lady Hornets hit big shots during the second half to establish a solid lead and kept the Lady Chargers at arm’s length with good shooting.
Brownsville Veterans was down six points entering the fourth quarter after junior Mariana Espinosa beat the buzzer with a layup. The Lady Chargers had kept it close throughout the game, but a 3-pointer from Flour Bluff sophomore Maddie Robinson gave her team a double-digit lead halfway through the fourth.
It was not the Lady Chargers’ night from beyond the arc, and the Lady Hornets hit their shots when they needed them.
“I am really proud of our girls,” Brownsville Veterans coach Arnold Torres Jr. said. “They had a great season, and we accomplished a lot of good things for the program.”
Torres said the Lady Chargers had an opportunity going into the game but lost because of some key battles his team needed to win.
“We felt like in order to compete we needed to protect the ball and battle for boards,” Torres said. “We went through some rough spots where we just could not get the rebounds, and I think the rebounding margin was the difference.”
The Brownsville Veterans coach was proud his team fought to the end.
Earlier Friday, the Donna High Bravettes lost 76-35 to the Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial Lady Eagles in their area-round outing.
“It was a tremendous season,” Bravettes coach Lori Pedroza said. “I am very proud of the girls and everything they accomplished. This year we won 25 games. That is a great season. That is attributed to them and their hard work. The seniors led the way, and the juniors have an example to follow for next year.”