McALLEN — San Antonio Taft scored three times in the first 11 minutes of the first half en route to a convincing 5-1 victory Friday over McAllen Memorial during the second day of the 25th annual McAllen ISD Girls Soccer Showcase at McAllen Memorial.

Bella Galan scored on a shot from about 18 yards four minutes into the game and Layla Rangel followed with a header from inside the box four minutes later. Jessiny Aguillon closed the first half of scoring with a an uncontested left-footed shot from less than 10 yards for a 3-0 lead.

Playing without a couple of injured starters, including returning leading scorer Chloey Mejia, it took until about 10 minutes remained in the first half before Memorial had its first real attack inside Taft’s box. After that, the Mustangs played a tighter match with the Raiders.

“This was more of a learning experience for these girls than anything else,” Memorial head coach Matthew Kaiser said. “ When we’re down or when things are tough, the girls saw today and some will have to carry more weight.”

Sofia Davila scored in the second half for the Mustangs.

Kaiser said they were hoping to win the flip and get the wind behind them but that didn’t happen, and it seemed that Taft took advantage of that wind and its team speed to surprise the young Mustangs until they made some adjustments.

“Sometimes you’re going to play teams that are better than you in more places than you’re ready for,” Kaiser said. “Still, we had some opportunities. This is a young team, and one of the thing about young teams is they can be emotional. When something goes well it can be a multiplier, but when something doesn’t go so well, unfortunately, that can be a multiplier as well. That will change as they gain experience and maturity.”

Memorial tied its first game Thursday, 1-1, with Corpus Christi Calallen. The Mustangs play at home at 1 p.m. today during the final day of the showcase.

At McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, Milan Diaz scored three times, Juliana Millin and Savanna Ruiz each scored twice and Gabby Gonzalez added a goal as the Bulldogs cruised to an 8-0 win over Flour Bluff. McHi plays at home at 11 a.m. today against Calallen.

At McAllen Rowe, Mia Mata, Sophia San Miguel, Ayloni Garcia and Camila Gil each scored in a 4-3 win over San Antonio Warren. The Warriors play at 11 a.m. today at home against Edinburg North.

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2023 McAllen ISD

Girls Soccer Showcase

Thursday, Jan. 5

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High 3. Harlingen South 1

San Antonino Warren 6, Edinburg North 1

San Antonio Taft 1, Harlingen High 0

At McAllen Memorial

McAllen Memorial 1, Calallen 1

Los Fresnos 1, Edinburg Economedes 0

At McAllen Rowe

Flour Bluff 3, Donna North 0

Sn Antonio O’Connor 6, McAllen Rowe 1

Friday, Jan. 6

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High 8, Flour Bluff 0

Calallen 1, Harlingen South 0

San Antonio O’Connor 5, Los Fresnos 0

At McAllen Memorial

San Antonio Taft 5, McAllen Memorial 1

Harlingen High 4, Edinburg North 0

At McAllen Rowe

McAllen Rowe 4, San Antonio Warren 3

Edinburg Economedes 0, Donna North 0

Saturday, Jan. 7

At McAllen High Stadium

Edinburg Economedes vs. San Antonio Warren, 9 a.m.

McAllen High vs. Calallen, 11 a.m.

At McAllen Memorial

Harlingen High vs. San Antonio O’Connor, 9 a.m.

Flour Bluff vs. Harlingen South, 11 a.m.

McAllen Memorial vs. Donna North, 1 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

San Antonio Taft vs. Los Fresnos, 9 a.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Edinburg North, 11 a.m.

McALLEN — Two goals from precision passes and a pinpoint accuracy direct kick from 20 yards were enough for McAllen High to claim a 3-1 win over a pesky and surprisingly physical Harlingen South squad Thursday in the opening match of the McAllen ISD Girls Soccer Showcase at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Juliana Millin scored off a breakaway, catching in stride a pass from senior Milan Diaz that split two defenders less than three minutes into the first half for a 1-0 lead. Milan scored seven minutes later inside the box on a beautiful piece of footwork and cross from Savanna Ruiz for a quick 2-0 lead.

While many teams may have folded against a power like McHi, Harlingen South did nothing of the sort. In fact, it pressed defensively even more aggressively, giving the Bulldogs little to no room to set up their ball-control game. The Hawks were more physical,kept the ball on their side of the field for a majority of the first half and won more than their share of 50-50 balls.

Then with less than 20 minutes remaining, South’s Carla Echeverria scored during a scrum in front of the goal off a corner kick to make it 2-1.

“Harlingen South was a little tougher than we thought they would be, but I’m glad we stuck it out and made some adjustments at halftime,” Millin said. “It was a matter of calming down.”

Harlingen South head coach Debra Galvan said the plan was to try to keep McHi from settling into its tough ball-control offense.

“I’m really proud of the girls. They stepped up today against a team that’s been blowing opponents away,” Galvan said. “I’m real happy we were able to get the goal on them and keep pressuring them.

“We knew they had a lot of skill and our goal was to try not to let them play their game, be first to every ball and keep pressuring them. The fewer possessions they had the better.”

Senior Haley Nixon made the score 3-1 after Millin was fouled crossing the field. Last year’s District 31-5A player of the year lined up her shot and stuck it perfectly in the top right corner for the 3-1 advantage.

“I just saw that top corner and said, ‘OK, let’s see if I can hit it there. I was sure I could get it high enough,” Nixon said. “(South was) coming in hard today and we hadn’t played a team like that this year, so we weren’t really used to that and needed to get more physical. They were pressing us fast so we needed to play quicker, and as the game went on we started to get it.”

McHi was a different team in the second half and had several opportunities for more quick-strike scores come up just short.South, meanwhile, was less of a factor in the second half but still came up throughout the game with several shots on goal.

“We watched (South) before and they looked like a totally different team today,” McHi head coach Pat Arney said. “They were confidentand aggressive and well-balanced. They did a great job against us.

“We moved some girls around and played some positions a little different and got after it. They were bullying us, and we didn’t see it coming.”

McHi returns to action in the showcase with an 11 a.m. game today against Flour Bluff.

In the second game at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, San Antonio Warren defeated Edinburg North 6-1.

At McAllen Memorial, Ella Salazar scored for the Mustangs and Memorial tied Corpus Christi Calallen 1-1.

At McAllen Rowe, San Antonio O’Connor claimed a 6-1 win over the host Warriors. Ayloni Garcia scored Rowe’s lone goals. Also, Flour Bluff defeated Donna North, 3-1, San Antonio Taft defeated Harlingen High 1-0 and Los Fresnos captured a 1-0 win over Edinburg Economedes

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2023 McAllen ISD

Girls Soccer Showcase

Thursday, Jan. 5

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High 3. Harlingen South 1

San Antonino Warren 6, Edinburg North 1

San Antonio Taft 1, Harlingen High 0

At McAllen Memorial

McAllen Memorial 1, Calallen 1

Los Fresnos 1, Edinburg Economedes 0

At McAllen Rowe

Flour Bluff 3, Donna North 0

Sn Antonio O’Connor 6, McAllen Rowe 1

Friday, Jan. 6

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High vs. Flour Bluff, 11 a.m.

Harlingen South vs. Calallen, 1 p.m.

San Antonio O’Connor vs. Los Fresnos, 3 p.m.

At McAllen Memorial

McAllen Memorial vs. San Antonio Taft, 11 a.m.

Harlingen High vs. Edinburg North, 1 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

McAllen Rowe vs. San Antonio Warren, 9:30 a.m.

Edinburg Economedes vs. Donna North, noon

Saturday, Jan. 7

At McAllen High Stadium

Edinburg Economedes vs. San Antonio Warren, 9 a.m.

McAllen High vs. Calallen, 11 a.m.

At McAllen Memorial

Harlingen High vs. San Antonio O’Connor, 9 a.m.

Flour Bluff vs. Harlingen South, 11 a.m.

McAllen Memorial vs. Donna Noeth, 1 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

San Antonio Taft vs. Los Fresnos, 9 a.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Edinburg North, 11 a.m.

McALLEN — McAllen High girls soccer head coach Pat Arney is notorious for downplaying how good his team could be during the season.

So, imagine hearing this: “I would say, yes, usually I do (downplay) and I have been, but I have to say we’re looking pretty good right now,” said Arney, entering his 27th year at the Bulldogs’ helm.

Stop the presses … what?

“We’re ahead of where I thought we would be at this point,” Arney said on the eve of the 25th annual McAllen ISD Girls Soccer Showcase, a three-day event with 14 teams from the Valley, Corpus Christi and San Antonio. “But it’s early and we still have a lot of work to do.”

The three McAllen schools will host matches each day. McHi opens with a 3 p.m. game today against Harlingen South at McAllen Stadium. Memorial plays at 5 p.m. at home against Corpus Christi Calallen, and Rowe plays on its home turf at 6 p.m. against San Antonio O’Connor.

For a complete schedule, visit RGVSports.com.

Arney, whose teams have won seven straight district titles and 19 throughout his career, said that as recent as a month or so ago, he was trying to figure out who will fill in for the six starters he lost from last year’s squad.

“Think about it and who we lost — they were all quality players who could play in college. That’s huge,” Arney said. “I knew I would need girls to step up this year and they have. It’s so pleasing … but we’ve just started.

“The way they have worked together has been outstanding. Girls who I thought, ‘Maybe they can start here and there,’ when I make the lineup, they are there starting. No maybe.”

The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 29-0 in the six scrimmages this season.

All three McAllen teams are expected to be in a battle for the top spot in District 31-5A. Last year, the top four spots came down to the last day, with McHi, McAllen Memorial, McAllen Rowe and Sharyland High all separated by just three points. This year, there’s also perennial Class 6A power Edinburg Vela, which moved down to Class 5A.

“I would say they’re the team to beat in our district,” Arney said. “It’s going to be a battle like last year. Up until a month ago, I was thinking we might not make the playoffs. In this district, though, you never know and we still might not.”

District 31-5A has 10 teams this year with the addition of Vela and PSJA North, so the regular district season begins Friday, Jan. 13, and two of the district powers, McHi and McAllen Rowe, will kick off district play at 6 p.m. at McAllen High Stadium.

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2023 McAllen ISD

Girls Soccer Showcase

Thursday, Jan. 5

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High vs. Harlingen South, 3 p.m.

San Antonino Warren vs. Edinburg North, 5 p.m.

San Antonio Taft vs. Harlingen High, 7 p.m.

At McAllen Memorial

McAllen Memorial vs. Calallen. 5 p.m.

Los Fresnos vs. Edinburg Economedes, 7 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

Flour Bluff vs. Donna North, 4 p.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. San Antonio O’Connor, 6 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 6

At McAllen High Stadium

McAllen High vs. Flour Bluff, 11 a.m.

Harlingen South vs. Calallen, 1 p.m.

San Antonio O’Connor vs. Los Fresnos, 3 p.m.

At McAllen Memorial

McAllen Memorial vs. San Antonio Taft, 11 a.m.

Harlingen High vs. Edinburg North, 1 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

McAllen Rowe vs. San Antonio Warren, 9:30 a.m.

Edinburg Economedes vs. Donna North, noon

Saturday, Jan. 7

At McAllen High Stadium

Edinburg Economedes vs. San Antonio Warren, 9 a.m.

McAllen High vs. Calallen, 11 a.m.

At McAllen Memorial

Harlingen High vs. San Antonio O’Connor, 9 a.m.

Flour Bluff vs. Harlingen South, 11 a.m.

McAllen Memorial vs. Donna Noeth, 1 p.m.

At McAllen Rowe

San Antonio Taft vs. Los Fresnos, 9 a.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Edinburg North, 11 a.m.

RIO GRANDE CITY — McAllen Memorial medaled nine wrestlers out of the 12 weight categories, including wins for undefeated sisters Eternity and Serenity De La Garza as the Mustangs manhandled the field on the girls side to capture the Rio Grande City Snakebite Invitational on Thursday.

Memorial finished with 172.5 points to win the event. The Mustangs are ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 5A, according toTexas Wrestling. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln captured second, Donna North was third and host Rio Grande City took fifth. Valley View continued its strong showing as a young program, taking fifth and winning two weight classes.

The host Rattlers captured the boys’ team title, outdistancing Sharyland Pioneer 160.5 to 153.0. Juarez-Lincoln was third, Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial fourth and Roma fifth. There were 14 boys teams and 14 girls teams competing in the annual event.

Eternity De La Garza improved to 16-0 on the season with three pins during the event, including during the championship match in 3:57 against a stubbornly valiant Lia Gutierrez of Rio Grande City in the 165-pound category. Despite often getting tossed around, Gutierrez was defiant even though De La Garza held her down close to a pin for much of the match.

Eternity De La Garza finished second in the Class 5A state tournament this year and is currently ranked No. 2 in the state at 165, only behind Canyon Randall’s J’nessa Reynoso.

Eternity said she hasn’t quite reached the high level of technical wrestling she had attained last year. Thursday’s championship showing was more about pure power and pressing an opponent who, although was dominated, fought.

“I was just trying to beat her,” Eternity De La Garza said. “I don’t feel stronger than last year but I do feel a little strong — but not yet like last year. I felt more technical last year and not so much this year.”

Neither of the De La Garzas has faced stiff competition in the Valley, but that gives them more opportunities to wrestle differentvstyles. Usually their matches are done in minutes, sometimes seconds.

“I don’t feel like I’m there yet, but I know I can get there and I’m gonna get there,” she said. “The goal is to go to state again.”

Serenity De La Garza (9-0), the defending Class 5A state champion at 138 pounds, pinned her first two opponents in 1:37 and 40 seconds before winning her title match with a 15-0 technical fall in 1:23.

Rio Grande City finished with eight wrestlers earning medals, including four first places. The night concluded with two Rattlers wrestlers medaling. Senior Aiden Stafford, ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A at 285, improved to 25-0 on the season with a fall at 5:19. Teammate Ricardo Reyes gave RGC two medals in the weight class with his fourth place.

Aiden Valdovinos continued his torrid freshman campaign, improving to 13-1 with a 7-3 decision at 138. Valdovinos is ranked No. 18 in the state at 138. Sophomore Edrick Peña improved to 11-2 with a 3-1 decision at 150 pounds and No. 4 state-ranked Greg Vela continued his perfect streak, upping his record to 23-0 with a pin in 2:46.

Vela and Stafford are both seniors. Early in the season, Rio Grande City head coach Ron Pratt said each year he has a direct challenge for his seniors.

“I tell ‘em, ‘You’re a senior, what’s your legacy going to be?’” Pratt said. “’What are you going to leave behind?’ It catches themoff guard and I tell them that they’re legacy is what the freshmen and sophomores do after they’re gone. Their success is a direct reflection of what the seniors have taught them.”

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Louis King became the first NBA call up from the RGV Vipers, signing a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. He is the 51st overall call up from the Vipers to the NBA in team history.

King appeared in 18 games for the Vipers, starting in 17, all during the first portion of the season, known as the G League Showcase Cup. He averaged 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Following that call up, the Vipers acquired Shawn Occeus. Occeus was part of the Vipers training camp roster at the beginning of the season. He played 33 games with the Vipers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns. He started in 16 of those games, averaging 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

He graduated from Northeastern in 2019 and was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.

NOW IT’S FOR REAL

For the second straight year, the G League has divided its season into two parts. The first part is a 16-game schedule in which the top eight teams advance to Showcase Cup tournament in Las Vegas. RGV tallied a 12-4 record during that portion of the season but lost in the first round for the second straight year, 102-96, to the Windy City Bulls.

It won its second game, however, scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 125-119 victory over the Iowa Wolves. Houston Rockets assignee Josh Christopher hit the game-winning 3-pointer and finished with 23 points, tied with Jalen Lecque for the team lead in scoring. The Vipers outscored the Wolves 41-19 in the final period.

EXPLOSIVE OPENER

The Vipers scored a franchise-record 51 points in the second quarter, led 76-50 at the half and cruised past the Delaware Blue Coats 138-99 in both teams’ regular-season opener at the Chase Fieldhouse.

Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days led the offensive barrage with 35 and 28 points, respectively. They both had more than 25 points midway through the third quarter. They were a combined 14-of-27 (51%) from beyond the arc. As a team, the Vipers converted on 21-of-51 3-pointers. Days also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as the Vipers held a 50-39 advantage on the boards. Hudgins led the team with eight assists.

Cassius Stanley scored 14 points, Jalen Lecque and Mustapha Heron added 13, while Josh Reaves added 11 and Ray Spalding scored 10 to go with eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.

Michael Foster Jr. and Jaden Springer scored 18 and 17, respectively, for Delaware.

The Vipers return to action at 4 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday against the Maine Celtics at the Portland Expo Building in Portland, Maine.

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EDINBURG — It has been a standout year and illustrious career for UTRGV outside hitter Sarah Cruz, filled with big moments and memories.

Now, the 6-foot-2 native of Olomouc, Czech Republic, is looking to end her career with more of both as UTRGV hosts the first two rounds of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship at the UTRGV Fieldhouse today and Saturday.

The Vaqueros (25-6) will face the Houston Christian Huskies (23-10) in the first round at 7 p.m. today. Prior to that match, South Dakota State (17-14) and Louisiana (15-12) will face off in the 4 p.m. match, with the winners moving on to the second round at 2 pm. Saturday.

UTRGV competed in the NIVC last season at Arizona and previously participated in the postseason in 2016 with an NCAA Tournament match at Texas.

The 2022 NIVC features 32 teams. The first two rounds are scheduled for Dec. 1-4, Round 3 for Dec. 6-8, the semifinals Dec. 8-11, and the championship match will be played Dec. 12 or 13.

Previous champions of the current NIVC are UNLV (2021), Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).

In 106 career matches, Cruz has accumulated 1,398 kills, 117 service aces, 774 digs, 213 blocks and accounted for 1,642 points. She ranks third in program history for career kills — needing eight to move to second — and fourth in service aces.

“We’ve had some really, really special outside hitters in this program, and she’s one of them,” UTRGV head coach Todd Lowery said. “She’ll be in the same conversation as those players, like Ragni Steen Knudsen, Bojana Mitrovic, Barbara Silva, that really carried a huge load for us.”

Cruz is capping her career with her best season. She’s one of two players on the squad to have played in all 118 sets this season and has started all 31 matches, leading the team with 508 kills and 37 aces while contributing 267 digs and 63 blocks. She’s the single-season program record holder in kills and can build on that during the NIVC.

She is the 2022 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, an All-WAC first-team honoree and a three-time winner of the WAC Offensive Player of the Week award. She was the most valuable player at Louisiana’s Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic and made the all-tournament team at the UTRGV Tournament and Texas Tech’s Red Raider Classic.

It’s a much different Cruz than the one who showed up in the United States as an 18-year-old girl starting her collegiate career at NAIA’s Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.

“Y’all have so many different options for food here in the United States,” said Cruz, admitting the birria tacos have found a soft spot in her heart, and on her taste buds (but it doesn’t beat out her mom’s Cuban fare). “I gained a lot of weight my freshman year.”

That supposed weight gain, however, didn’t slow her down even a step as a freshman. In fact, it may have all transferred to that powerful right arm of hers as she got stronger and wiser each year as opponents focused much of their attention on Cruz, doing what they could to get her out of systems as often as possible. It hasn’t worked often, however, during her five collegiate playing years.

Like her time at UTRGV, the accolades came pouring in at the Kentucky school. She earned NAIA first-team All-American, American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, AVCA-NAIA Freshman of the Year, Mid-South Conference Co-Player of the Year and MSC Freshman of the Year honors. She transferred to UTRGV in Jan. 2019.

“It has been awesome to get all that recognition, but I play a team sport so I don’t think about it at that level,” said Cruz, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis during her freshman year at Lindsey Wilson. “For us, it’s more a group thing and a team thing. I’ve been working hard and doing the best for my team, that’s what matters.

“It’s my last time. I try to enjoy every single practice, every single moment. You never know when it will be over, so I’m enjoying it all, one game at a time.”

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EDINBURG — For an entire game, the RGV Vipers were in search for a hot hand.

They settled with warm. On this day, however, that was good enough as the Vipers won their third straight game 107-102 over Birmingham to improve to 6-3. There was nobody to score 30 points. In fact, only TyTy Washington even reached the 20-point mark, doing so in the fourth quarter.

The play-making guard, however, was key in moving the ball around, penetrating the lane and picking up two later steals to help lead the team to an “ugly” victory. He finished with 20 points, four assists, two steals and one rebound.

“They were more physical than us, and we kinda played 1-on-1 basketball and that didn’t work for us,” Washington said. “We need to move the ball, and as long as you are moving it something good is going to happen.

Leading 107-96 with time winding down, Birmingham hit a 3, RGV turned the ball over and Birmingham hit another 3 to cross the 100-point mark. Prior to that, it looked as if the Vipers were going to hold an opponent to fewer than 100 points for the first time this season.

“It was a sloppy game and we were being careless,” Washington said. “Coach has told us we have to play all the way through the game until 0.0 is on the clock. As talented as we are, we can’t be having those sloppy turnovers or relax, especially at the end. They are going to do whatever they have to to get the ball.”

James Kelly Sr., a 6-8, 240-pound space taker, scored a season-high 27 points and pulled down 16 rebounds before he fouled out. Kelan Martin added 22 for the Squadron, who had their franchise-record three-game road winning streak ended.

“Our guys got frustrated. Birmingham put out a big team, and they switched a lot,” Vipers head coach Kevin Burleson said. “They switched a lot and we couldn’t get into some of our actions. It was about emotional control at that point, and that’s been our mantra since the beginning of the season.”

Burleson added that the goal was to allow 25 points or less in each of the four quarters. They were halfway there, allowing 20 in the first and 25 in the third. They had only allowed 23 in the fourth until the two last-gasp 3-pointers during the game’s final half-minute.

It was also kids day at Bert Ogden Arena, and Burleson was quick to say that the 6,000-plus schoolchildren in attendance played a role in the victory.

“Kids are always energized, and they were all the way through,” he said. “This game was about who had the most energy and who could sustain. Players get tired. Kids don’t get tired.”

Birmingham had 13 offensive rebounds, nine coming from the wide-body Kelly, causing the Vipers grief throughout the game.

“When you switch you have to worry about the shooter, and if Trevor (Hudgins) is now on Kelly, he’s jumping over him no matter how tough Trevor is. That poses a lot of problems.”

Hudgins finished the day with 18 points. Trhae Mitchell hit a pair of 3s during the first half to end with six points but added eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.

There were 14 lead changes and eight ties in the game. RGV is now 5-1 all time against Birmingham, including 2-0 this season.

“I love watching film after these type of games,” Burleson said. “When you win big, you can show all the good things, but a game like this will give me things I can grab to teach the guys. Breaking down this game will be more about teaching.”

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EDINBURG — Four championships, a multitude of ex-players in the NBA and a team-record 28 made 3-pointers just two nights earlier didn’t mean much for the RGV Vipers on Saturday in the second of a two-game series against Memphis.

The Hustle played aggressive, in-your-face perimeter defense, Kenneth Lofton Jr. dominated the middle as if he were alone most of the night and the Hustle claimed a 127-116 victory over the Vipers at Bert Ogden Arena.

Lofton, a 6-foot-8, 275 pound mass scored 31 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and dished out six assists. Most of those assists led to 3-pointers for the Hustle (3-3) as the Vipers defense had to play a step off their man to help with the Hustle’s big man. He scored 29 points and nabbed 10 rebounds on Thursday against RGV.

The Hustle hit 17-of-40 3-pointers (42.5%) while RGV mustered 10-of-35 3s (28.6%).

Two nights previous, the Vipers set a team record for 3-pointers taken (54) and 3-pointers made (28) in a 149-124 wipeout of Memphis. The Vipers led 121-86 after three periods in that Thursday game.

So, if RGV had any thoughts that Saturday would be something similar, they were sadly mistaken and that’s the message first-year head coach Kevin Burleson want to make sure his team realizes. If anything, teams are going to play harder against the Vipers, wanting to beat the NBA G-League’s premiere organization and defending champions.

“Maybe they thought this was going to be easy,” Burleson said. “We came into the game knowing they were going to come out strong. We scored a lot last game and knew they were going to be physical and they played well. When they get going, they are a tough load to handle. We were a little too relaxed during some spots in the game. You can’t do that with that type of team.”

The Vipers (2-2) have given up 120 or more points in three of their four game this season, holding Birmingham to 104 in an eight-point win. They have also been out-rebounded in three of the four games by an average of 47.5-42.5. That, in part, could be because of the continuing recoveries of big men, 7-foot Willie Cauley Stein, and 6-foot-10 Ray Spalding.

“These guys both were off for 11 months and this was third game for Willie and second for Ray,” Burleson sad. “These guy are getting the rust off and are learning to play with the guys so I have no concerns there.”

Burleson’s biggest concern, however, came from watching what he called a bit of “I’ll get mine,” basketball.

“We were a little selfish on offense and that’s what hurt us. If we would’ve drove and passed, we would’ve gotten what we wanted,” he said. “It’s one of those things where they thought it would be easy and would be sweet. They were playing like they were up 30 or something like that.

“I don’t think we were playing as a group.”

Louis King led the Vipers with 29 points ad Darius Days added 22. Cauley-Stein scored 11 points and blocked four shots and TyTy Washington Jr. scored 16 points and dished out seven assists.

The Vipers return to action at 7 p.m. today at Mexico City, then return home for a 7 p.m. match Wednesday once again with Mexico City.

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EDINBURG — Early in the season, UTRGV volleyball head coach Toddy Lowery was directing his team, during this one specific moment, to pass the ball a little more to the left.

The distance was no more than a foot. Something that many people would consider minimal. For Lowery and the Vaqueros, however, that small distance was a large measuring tool in the plan that has taken UTRGV to the WAC regular season champions and the No 1 seed for the WAC Tournament, which begins today at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

The Vaqueros play their first match at 7 p.m. today at home against No. 8 seed, Southern Utah.

“First contact obviously is a major part of what we’re doing, and this is probably the best passing team we’ve ever had here at UTRGV,” Lowery said. It’s something we’ve talked about and worked on.”

Ioanna Charitonidi, Regina Tijerina and Sydney Schoen have taken complete ownership of the back row, knowing that their first contact — whether they are serve-receiving or bouncing back an attack — is a major determining factor in the rally’s outcome.

“I think all three of us have worked really hard and have worked the extra reps,” said Charitonidi, a junior who missed the early part of the season recovering from knee surgery but is now back and providing the Vaqueros with a back-row hitter, while also being a defensive stalwart. “We have a really good connection in the back row and we support one another.

“We’re not perfect, but we get over our mistakes really quick. And when we get the ball to (setter) Luanna (Emiliano), we know that there are so many great things that will go from there.”

Emiliano, who handles the second contact about 98% of the time, or more it seems, said that the team’s passing has improved tremendously and it gives her more time to do what she does — be dangerous with the ball.

“A good ball in my hands makes it so much easier to play with the middles and the outsides because the block will have doubt on where I’m going to go. Then I can choose whoever to set to. When we take care of this, we play so much easier and it really matters.

Emiliano was named the WAC Setter of the Year on Tuesday. Teammate Sarah Cruz was named the WAC Conference Player of the Year also. Both excel — well, the whole team of big hitters excel — when that first mark is on target.

“Good first contact helps Luanna distribute the ball and move it around more,” Cruz said. “We practice first contact every single day, and we get more confident every single day.”

The offense has become more varied as the passing has becoming more pinpoint and, with Emiliano setting, all the hitters know that the next ball could be one for them to attack.

Lowery said having Emiliano as a setter lessens the pressure of having perfect passers all the time. Less pressure has translated into more perfect passes.

“At the beginning of the year we were passing a little lower and we were playing faster,” libero Tijerina said. “Coach modified our system and focused on us playing together and having trust in each other.

“The height of the pass controls the speed of the game, and that has changed for us. He would just tell us to take your time and practice. If he said that during the game it would add pressure, but sine he’s making the changes during practice I think it’s the best option to have and we take care of it.”

Schoen said she hears the words “first contact” at least once a day, whether it’s practice or game day. It gave her and the defensive squad a deeper understanding of their importance.

“The coaching staff has very high expectations for us, but we have them for each other. Every day in practice we hold one another accountable and it makes it more relaxed,” Schoen said. “Luanna takes off a lot of the pressure and makes the second contact better — then the third.

“Coach is hard on us and he has very high expectations of us, but when we are passing well, he lets us know we are doing a good job and gives us credit — it’s a nice balance.”

The WAC tournament starts at 10 a.m. today with the quarterfinals. Games are scheduled for 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and UTRGV at 7 p.m. today. The semifinals are at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, and the championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday.

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McALLEN – As a sophomore, Esteban Gonzalez advanced to the UIL State Golf Tournament, was named the RGV Golf Coaches Association Golfer of the Year and averaged a 73.94 round on the golf course for the season.

“It was then that I started getting introduced to college and how to get into it,” Gonzalez said. “I was having the scores to attract college coaches.”

His high school golf coach, Celso Gonzales, said “since he was a little linkster, his goal was to make it to the next level. Now he has accomplished that and fulfilled his dreams.”

The two-time Golfer of the Year signed his national letter of intent Tuesday at the McAllen Memorial gym, celebrating the day with friends, coaches, teachers, family and “everyone who has supported me since the very beginning. It’s a special moment to experience this with friends and family.”

Gonzalez won the individual medalist honor at the District 31-5A tournament last season as a junior. He finished with four first places and three top-fives for the year, lowering his average to 73.81.

So far this season, the senior has a pair of first places.

“It was always the goal to be working toward it,” he said of taking his swing to the collegiate level. “I wasn’t looking too far ahead but one day at a time. It’s the best way you could progress your game.”

Taking it to that next level means facing golfers who are also at the next level. Coaches not just recruit for talent but also for a golfer’s mentality,” Gonzales said.

“ Bottom line is that you get to next level and everybody is going to be pretty much at that same level skill wise,” Gonzales said. “What he needs to work on – and I ask college coaches what are you looking for – are things like course management and how they react to adversity. What is their body management, do they get mad. Those are the things he will need to work on.

“As far as his swing and skills, they are up there. I will put him up and compare him to any junior golfer anywhere.”

Gonzalez said those are aspects of the sport that he plans on working on immediately, not only to help him and his defending 31-5A championship team, but to also prep him for his first day as a collegiate golfer.

“I want to work on learning the game and what I need to work on at the right times,” Gonzalez said. “You can put in a lot of hours but not good work and if you don’t progress, those hours go down the drain.

“It’s a different situation. Now, instead of having to see results, I have to work at it for the long run. Of course I’m going to keep putting in the hours but I’m also going to do what I can to be where I want to be when I start.”

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