McALLEN — McAllen Memorial’s Ivory Gutierrez isn’t tasked with scoring in bunches often. The junior has only eclipsed the double-digit mark during five of the Mustangs’ 15 contests this season.
With several of her teammates in foul trouble and the McAllen High Bulldogs trying to creep back into the game, McAllen Memorial head coach Clarisse Arredondo challenged Gutierrez to step up her offensive game at the break Tuesday.
Gutierrez did precisely that during the third, erupting for nine points during the quarter to give the Mustangs a double-digit lead and never looking back en route to a dominant 49-31 victory over the Bulldogs at the McAllen High Gym.
“Ivory is our point guard, and she does a great job of pushing the ball up floor for us but there are times where I feel like she doesn’t look to score enough,” Arredondo said. “I told her at halftime we needed her to score. She came out and attacked that basket and did some great things for us.”
Gutierrez finished with a game-high 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Madison Borjas added eight points.
Sophomore Dariana Luna led the Bulldogs with a team-high 12 points. Junior shooting guard Lola Mallard chipped in eight points.
Foul trouble by the Mustangs forced Arredondo to turn to her bench during the contest, with the game ending with four McAllen Memorial players fouling out.
The Mustangs bench made their presence felt, outscoring the Bulldogs bench 15-5. Sophomore Karly Bazan and senior Eternity De La Garza both played huge roles off the bench. Bazan netted six points and nabbed 10 rebounds, while De La Garza added five points and 10 boards.
“I have a really young team with only three returners,” Arredondo said. “Karly is a sophomore. This is her first year on varsity so she’s learning every game, but she stepped up huge for us tonight. Then Eternity is a wrestler, so I only get her part time, but I told them in the locker room I was extremely proud of them both. They came up clutch for the team when we needed them.”
The Mustangs foul problems led to 42 free throw attempts by the Bulldogs. Trouble at the line haunted the Bulldogs, however, converting just 15 for a 35.7% clip.
The Bulldogs drop to 7-11 overall and 1-2 in district. The Mustangs improve to 12-6 overall and 2-1 in district, tied for third with Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer early in the season.
McAllen High looks to bounce back at 6 p.m. Friday, hosting Sharyland Pioneer at the McAllen High Gym. The Mustangs return home for a pivotal matchup against Sharyland High at 6 p.m. Friday at the McAllen Memorial Gym.
“These early season wins are very crucial,” Arredondo said. “Every game is important for us. We started off with Edinburg Vela last week and that was a tough one, but we need to go out and push through every game.”