By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to RGVSports.com

With the first round of district play coming to a close, Harlingen South needed a win against Brownsville Hanna to stay in a tie for first.

It didn’t come easy, but the Lady Hawks pulled off a 3-2 victory behind a rare two-goal effort from Isabel Aldan.

“Our girls just never give up,” South coach Omar Pedroza said. “Isabel plays very hard, sometimes a little bit too hard, but that’s her style. Tonight that paid off, because she was hustling and she was right there when we needed someone to be there, and she put it away.”

Hanna was in control for much of the contest. Pedroza and the Lady Hawks knew Hanna had a standout player in Ana Barragan, but they still struggled to contain her. Barragan raced through the South defense and showed off strong ball handling to put the Lady Eagles on top with a goal with 28 minutes left in the half.

South turned up the intensity as the clock wound down, finding more scoring chances as it played a more aggressive style. Inside the 1-minute mark, Sarah Garza found the net to tie the game.

Hanna continued to challenge South’s defense, sending two shots wide and one that resulted in a nice save before Barragan struck again midway through the second half on a long kick.

“There’s not that many good players like her,” Pedroza said of Barragan. “She controls things. She’s an outstanding player. I mean, she scored from, like, 30 yards out. My goalie is very good, and she didn’t have a chance.”

Trailing once again, Garza and the Lady Hawks turned up the heat. Hanna’s defense was tight, but South managed to maintain possession better and find scoring opportunities thanks to some foul calls.

With nine minutes to play, Aldan tied the game on a close-range score after a corner toss and a battle for possession. Just more than two minutes later, she found the net again as Hanna’s goalie came out too far trying to knock a ball down, and Aldan snuck behind her to send the ball into the goal.

“I didn’t think I was going to score, so when I did it was shocking. … I never really score. It felt good,” Aldan said.

While the home team was celebrating, across the pitch Hanna was struggling to swallow the loss.

“We’re sad because we had the game, and to lose a game like this is very hard,” coach Eliseo Guzman said. “Those foul calls were the thing that caused the goals.”

By CLAIRE CRUZ | SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Santa Maria got a chance at redemption when they faced the Lady Bulldogs in the Lyford Holiday Classic championship game Saturday afternoon.

After losing to Lyford in the tournament last year, the Lady Cougars were determined to come out on top this time, and they did in a dominant 49-20 win.

“The ladies put it together, they did exactly what we needed,” Santa Maria head coach Albert Briones said. “We’re starting to show our maturity and our teamwork out there. We’ve been under the radar, which is good, but we’re going into district play and this is exactly how we wanted to go.”

Santa Maria’s defenders got to the ball like flies to honey. The Lady Bulldogs rarely got an uncontested shot, and when they missed it was a tough task to come down with an offensive rebound despite having a height advantage. Santa Maria is a “gang rebounding” team, and there was plenty of blue in the area anytime a ball was up for grabs.

The Lady Cougars smothered Lyford shots as they were leaving the shooters hands and forced a lot of poor passes with their stifling coverage. They held Lyford to just five points in the first half, which it scored after long droughts. Lyford’s only two points in the second quarter didn’t come until the 3:45 mark in the frame.

“We’re implementing more pressure on the ball. That’s just our style, we want to play fast because we have the kids to do it,” Briones said. “I was very happy with our interior defense, how we were able to manage a bigger, physical team in the paint.”

The Lady Cougars leaned on their speed to score a bulk of their points. They often fed the ball down court after a steal or rebound and were almost perfect on quick break layups. Yazmin Cantu, who was selected to the All-Tournament Team, led Santa Maria with 23 points.

Senior point guard Byanca Cantu was named the Tournament MVP and dropped 15 points. Briones said she showed a lot of growth throughout the weekend and led the team well with her solid passing and aggressive play.

“[This win] means we improved as a team and that we can do even more in the future,” Byanca Cantu said. “We’re like a family, we have a great bond and we know each other and that helps. I definitely feel like I’ve improved from working hard in the summer and I’m glad all this work paid off.”

Lyford couldn’t buy a basket throughout the contest and struggled against Santa Maria’s press. The Lady Bulldogs played better in the second half, but overall it was a sloppy performance against a strong defensive opponent.

“It’s unfortunate, it’s the championship game of our tournament and you want to win, but we’ll use this as a learning experience,” Lyford head coach Teresa Gutierrez said. “We laid an egg, but Santa Maria’s tough all the way around and give them credit, they deserve it.”

CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

SANTA ROSA — Lyford point guard Damaris Bermudez proves true the adage, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

Despite being the smallest person on the court at 5-feet, 1-inch tall, the sophomore shined Friday night in Santa Rosa, leading Lyford to a 53-29 win over the Lady Warriors.

Bermudez did it all for the Lady Bulldogs, dropping 17 points, dishing out masterful assists, recording steals and even stuffing a shot.

“I shocked myself, to be honest. It feels really great,” Bermudez said. “Before the game I was going through some stuff and really mad, so I took it out on the court. I want to beat bigger people, no matter how tall they are. I play like they’re my size, and it doesn’t bother me. They’re just another opponent.”

The energy level was ramped up to 10 as the teams battled in a physical, speedy contest. Lyford’s fast-paced offense and quick-handed defense pushed the tempo early, which gave Santa Rosa trouble.

The Lady Bulldogs forced turnovers on many of Santa Rosa’s first-half offensive setups and used their speed to push the ball down court for easy buckets. The Lady Warriors played good defense when the tempo slowed down and made it difficult for Lyford to get the ball inside to senior post Kayleen May, but the Lady Bulldogs were stronger on the boards and finished on second-chance shots.

“That’s our strength, pushing the ball and using our speed,” Lyford coach Teresa Gutierrez said. “If we’re getting steals off the press we’re really good, but we need to work on the halfcourt offense. We came out with an intense start and were able to get a good cushion.”

After falling into a 20-5 hole after the first quarter, Santa Rosa started forcing shots in the second, which led to sloppy play. Bermudez and fellow guard Emily Gonzalez turned up the stifling Lyford defense to hold the Lady Warriors to two points in the second quarter, and they directed the offense well to take a 33-7 lead into halftime.

Santa Rosa outscored the substitute-led Lady Bulldogs in the second half, 22-20. May scored all six Lyford points during the third quarter and finished with 12 behind a strong performance in the paint, where she monopolized the offensive rebounding.

Santa Rosa scored two 3-pointers during the third and five overall, with three coming from Flor Gomez. The Lady Warriors were better at the free throw line as well, making 67 percent of their free throws to Lyford’s 48 percent. Though they played better in the second half, the damage had been done.

“We’ve been a second-half team all season, and we just can’t do that against good teams like Lyford,” Santa Rosa coach Robbie Cruz said. “We just dug ourselves so deep in the start, it hurt us at the end.”

Claire Cruz | Special to the Star

A one-sided game may not seem like much of a challenge to someone who just sees the final score, but often blowout contests can test the mental strength of both teams.

That was the case Tuesday night as Rio Hondo defeated Progreso 57-8 in a district-opening matchup. The Lady ’Cats dominated from tip to final whistle, regardless of whether it was starters or subs on the court.

“We try to even out the minutes as much as possible, and in big games that’s not always possible,” Rio Hondo coach Victor Sauceda said. “But our subs practice hard, they deserved to play. It’s a testament to their hard work and them being ready to go when their number is called.”

The Lady ’Cats held Progreso scoreless through the first quarter, jumping out to a 26-0 lead. Their full-court defense was suffocating and forced the Lady Red Ants to make long passes, which often Rio Hondo intercepted and turned into uncontested layups.

Solid offensive rebounding gave Rio Hondo plenty of scoring chances that were not wasted as it cruised to a 45-2 halftime lead.

Progreso recorded its first points of the game with 3:01 remaining in the second quarter as freshman Syann Alaniz made two free throws.

Despite falling into a deep hole quickly, Progreso coach Anastacio Pecina continued to push his team. He continually told his girls to “lose the fear” in response to their hesitant start, and the pep talk he gave at the break sparked better play in the second half.

“When they’re already down, you just want to encourage and get them up,” Pecina said. “My message was to just play the game, just compete and not beat themselves before they even go on the court. I respect and love them for being out here, they’re all warriors to me.”

The Lady Red Ants played much more aggressively after halftime on both sides of the ball. They took more shots and didn’t force passes, which led to scoring six points in the second half, including three from Tamara Pecina.

Staying focused can be hard when a team is up big, so Sauceda centered his halftime talk around motivating his team to work on things it can do better, such as rebounding, running the floor and working on driving to the basket. That led to more ball movement and smarter shots by Rio Hondo during the second half.

Eliza Rodriguez and Ayisha Andrews both scored 14 points for Rio Hondo, and they made two and three 3-pointers, respectively. All 10 Lady ’Cats recorded at least two points in the contest.

“I have a group of girls who play basketball year ’round, and one of the things we really wanted to focus on this year was shooting and I think it’s starting to pay off, and tonight you saw shots really starting to fall,” Sauceda said.

Claire Cruz | Special to the Star

San Benito dominated its bi-district playoff matchup with Edinburg North on Friday night, earning a 70-7 victory behind a well-rounded performance from the entire team.

“Anytime we can pick up a win on a Friday night, it always feels good,” San Benito coach Dan Gomez. “I think everybody did well, everybody did their part and we played hard. We just have to keep plugging away.”

The Greyhounds recorded a sack on Edinburg North’s first offensive play of the game, foreshadowing the suffocating defensive performance they put forth. Despite considerable height advantages for their receivers, the Cougars didn’t find much success through the air aside from their opening drive.

Quarterback Michael Rodriguez hit his go-to guy, senior receiver Sergio Quintanilla, for the only Cougars points of the game to answer an early San Benito score.

From then on, the Greyhounds’ cornerbacks didn’t allow many catches and were quick to come off blocks and help stop the lackluster Cougars run game.

San Benito’s offense was almost unstoppable, aside from two lost fumbles. Senior quarterback Smiley Silva was patient in the pocket behind his solid offensive line and threw four touchdown passes to three different receivers during the first half.

Backup quarterback Elijah Hernandez entered the game late in the second quarter and didn’t miss a beat, driving the Greyhounds down the field with precision and hitting senior receiver Juan Constante for his second touchdown catch.

Jermaine Corbin also had two touchdown catches during the first half, helping San Benito take a 36-7 lead into halftime.

After a pass-heavy first half, the teams took to the run more often during the second half. Edinburg North’s Rodriguez and running back Jacob Peralez had some success on the ground and broke off big runs, but penalties and turnovers made it hard for the Cougars to find a rhythm.

San Benito scored four rushing touchdowns, two by Hernandez and one each by seniors Tony Torres and Jonathan Palencia. Senior defensive tackle Aaron Villafranca also rumbled into the end zone after recovering a strip fumble during the third quarter.

That fumble was one of four turnovers committed by Edinburg North, which lost two fumbles and was intercepted twice. Senior Michael Banda was a defensive standout who had a hand in the turnovers and recorded several tackles.

“Unfortunately, we just didn’t play good football tonight. We made too many mistakes, and you can’t do that against a good team,” Edinburg North coach Damian Gonzalez said. “But it’s something to build from. We have a lot of guys coming back next year, and we have to use this as a stepping stone.”

By CLAIRE CRUZ | SPECIAL TO THE STAR

The final score of Tuesday night’s contest between Edinburg and Harlingen High reflects a tale of two halves.

Though the Lady Bobcats won 59-50 and dominated the first half behind their up-tempo offense, the Lady Cardinals outscored Edinburg in the second half to make the game tight in the final minutes. But the seasoned Lady Bobcats roster found a way to answer every time Harlingen High went on a run and sharpshooting junior A’nnika Saenz was clutch down the stretch to put the game on ice.

“ Harlingen is a very respectful program… so to come over here it’s always difficult,” Edinburg head coach JD Salinas said. “Basketball is a game of runs; we knew Harlingen was due for and sure enough they were there at the end. But I’m proud of my girls for pulling through in this game.”

Edinburg opened up a double-digit lead before Harlingen scored its first points midway through the first quarter. Saenz and junior guard Daysha Tijerina sparked the high-scoring first half by hitting two three-pointers each.

Harlingen’s defense was subpar for the first two quarters, allowing the Lady Bobcats to convert several shots by simply beating Harlingen down the court on inbound plays. But the young squad did show splashes of potential. Freshmen guard Rosa Zapata and post Juli Bryant led the offense with aggressive drives and strong moves against bigger defenders in the paint.

The Lady Cardinals showed their tenacity in the second half and played a more confident, fast-paced game. They kept subbing in fresh legs and that helped Harlingen’s defense force some bad shots by Edinburg and contributed to more players making an impact offensively.

“ We started a little slow, so we needed to pick up the intensity and that’s one thing we talked about at halftime,” Harlingen head coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “We had four freshmen out there and they were actually competing. Once we get the experience we’ll get better.”

Harlingen got its first swing of momentum in the fourth quarter. Junior Alexus Coto and sophomore Emery Scoggins hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since they trailed 11-2 four minutes into the first.

The Lady Cardinals were attacking more offensively and pressing well on defense, but Edinburg managed to answer every score and control the clock in the closing minutes to open its season with a win.

“ We hit shots when we needed to, we did great at the free-throw line, and we’re going to take this win and get ready for this weekend’s tournament,” Salinas said. “We’re excited about where we’re headed.”

CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

HARLINGEN — A little adversity didn’t stop the favored McAllen High Lady Bulldogs as they faced off with the Harlingen South Lady Hawks in an area-round playoff matchup Saturday.

Despite being without star senior Lexi Gonzalez for much of the second set, McHi defeated South 25-14, 19-25, 25-13, 25-16 to advance to the regional quarterfinal round.

“We had to really work for it. … their defense is exceptional and just kept digging and digging,” McHi coach Paula Dodge said. “It’s the next level up now, so we have to polish up some things that we didn’t do well today and play hard.”

After leading the Bulldogs to a quick opening-set victory, Gonzalez went out early in the second after injuring her foot while landing after a kill. Concern for their teammate and the absence of such a key player left the Lady Bulldogs playing out of rhythm, and the Lady Hawks took advantage.

Led by hard-swinging senior Mikela Mireles, South kept McHi scrambled and opened a big lead. With her team trailing 19-15, Gonzalez returned to the court, accompanied by a thunderous cheer from the crowd from McAllen.

“I wanted to finish this playoff game for my senior year. A lot of adrenaline and just a lot of excitement got me through,” Gonzalez said.

South showed its tenacity and didn’t let the return stymie its momentum. The solid back row of the Lady Hawks, anchored by senior Zoe Garcia, extended rallies with tremendous digs to earn a 25-19 set win.

McHi responded with a dominating performance during the third set. South’s hitters struggled to get good swings, and poor communication led to the Lady Hawks dropping the set 25-13.

Both teams played their best in the fourth, leading to a back-and-forth frame filled with long, impressive rallies. Seniors Garcia, Mireles and Mya Aguirre did all they could to keep South’s season alive, but the deeper McHi lineup pulled away to close out the match with a 25-16 win.

“McHi is a tough opponent and we have a lot of respect for them, but I’m proud of my girls and how they fought,” South coach Anissa Lucio said. “We take pride in what we did this year. We had a good season.”

Though Gonzalez came back and played a good game, it was heavy-swinging sophomore Celina Saenz who carried the McHi offense. She stepped up in Gonzalez’s absence and took over the match with her booming kills.

“We’re really excited to make it back (to Round 3),” Saenz said. “Unfortunately we didn’t get to move on last year, but we really want to do it this year so we’re really excited for the chance.”

By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

SANTA MARIA — It’s been a few years since Santa Maria got to celebrate a victory over district foe Three Rivers.

Despite a valiant effort, the Cougars lost for the seventh straight time to the Bulldogs, 28-13 on Friday night.

“ I was proud of the way we fought. We just made too many mistakes against a good team,” Santa Maria coach Israel Gracia said. “We played tough, things just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Three Rivers leaned heavily on the run for much of the first half. Senior quarterback Brandon Conn rushed for the first score of the game after recovering his fumbled snap. The point-after-attempt was blocked to give the Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead.

Santa Maria, on the other hand, struggled to establish a ground game and instead found its success through the air. Early in the second quarter, senior Nathaniel Rodriguez hit senior Albert Villarreal for a big play on fourth down to set up first-and-goal.

After three rushes with minimal gain, Rodriguez again dropped back and delivered a high toss to the deep left corner of the end zone. Senior Jesse Ortiz timed his jump perfectly to reach over the defender and snag the ball, and tip-toed inbounds for the score.

Trailing 7-6 with halftime quickly approaching, Three Rivers started testing the Cougars’ corners. In less than two minutes, Conn hit sophomore running back Zach Davis and senior Kyle Davis for two touchdown passes. Santa Maria stopped both two-point conversion attempts but still went into the locker room trailing 18-7.

“ We’ve been trying to be more balanced (offensively) this year and we did a good job of it,” Three Rivers coach Arturo Lozano said.

Much of the third was defined by penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive rhythm by both teams. But late in the quarter, Rodriguez connected with Ortiz again to decrease the deficit to one score.

Santa Maria kept the momentum rolling with a huge goal-line stop, but an injury to junior lineman Joshua Gonzalez caused the offensive line to break down and the Bulldogs sacked Rodriguez for a safety.

Three Rivers pounded the ball and the clock down to less than one minute on its ensuing drive, which was capped by a rushing touchdown from Conn and the only successful two-point conversion of the night.

“ We know our goal, which is to win a district championship, is still out in front of us,” Gracia said. “We have four games left, and we’re going to use this game and learn from it and keep going.”

By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

Revenge is sweet, and the Hidalgo Pirates dished out a big serving of it to spoil Rio Hondo’s homecoming Friday night.

Hidalgo dominated time of possession throughout the contest behind a sturdy offensive line that anchored the Pirates in their 35-17 win. Junior running back Zachary Carrera followed the big men up front to a huge night on the ground, accumulating 141 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

“It was a good game, the intensity was real,” Carrera said. “Last year they blew us out, but we got them this year. It’s a blessing. I couldn’t do anything without those linemen.”

Hidalgo’s senior quarterback Angel Lopez had a big night as well. He threw two touchdown passes — one to Gus Sanchez and another to junior tight end Jonathan Trevino — and scored on a quarterback keeper from the half-yard line.

The Bobcats’ defense had a night to forget, as they only forced two negative plays against the starters. Hidalgo’s ground-and-pound offense lured Rio Hondo’s secondary in just enough times for Lopez to find an open receiver downfield for some change-of-pace gains.

“I knew they were going to be tough for us because they’re big, and we’re not,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “We knew that run game would give us problems, and it did. They have some good-looking athletes over there.”

Rio Hondo junior quarterback Matthew Trevino took over after the Bobcats’ opening drive, and James said he had a good game for his experience level. He made good throws late as his offense played catchup — including a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Efrain Lopez — and powered out some good runs. Juniors Anthony Vega and Humberto Barrera also scored for Rio Hondo on a field goal and rushing touchdown, respectively.

The only true downside to Hidalgo’s game was drops. The Pirates had four would-be interceptions fall through the hands of defenders, and some of Lopez’s receivers failed to haul in some impressive throws he delivered.

“I’m really proud of our kids. They’re playing hard every week and they’re believing in what we’re trying to do, and that’s the main thing,” Hidalgo coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We did well on defense. We ran the ball really well. Our lines did a fantastic job, and we just hope to get better every week.”

By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

Los Fresnos may have been playing on a court on which its own colors abound, but there was no doubt Weslaco High was the home team Monday night in La Feria.

Supporters of the purple and white came out in waves for the bi-district playoff game and were rewarded with a scrappy 38-34 Lady Panthers victory to keep the season alive.

“Hats off to Los Fresnos, they did a heck of a job, they were very well-prepared,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “But my kids stepped up in the second half and … that was the difference in the game.”

The Lady Panthers were in control through the opening quarter, but then Los Fresnos senior Jovanna Adame and junior Ariadna Gallardo found their groove. The pair spearheaded a 16-point second quarter — highlighted by an eight-point scoring run that started and finished with 3-pointers made by Adame then Gallardo, respectively — to give the Lady Falcons a 24-20 lead at halftime.

In the Weslaco High locker room, coach Griselda Fino was very clear with her message. She wanted her team to rely on the defense that had carried it this far. The Lady Panthers responded flawlessly.

Los Fresnos was held scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the third and recorded just two points in the quarter. Weslaco High didn’t let up one bit during the final eight minutes, keeping the Lady Falcons’ offense stagnant and rarely allowing it to get the ball inside the paint.

Adame and Gallardo couldn’t find the magic they had to close out the second quarter, and without their spark Los Fresnos’ offense went cold.

“We had a big task tonight stopping (Gallardo), and my little (Jazmin Saenz) did a heck of a job, poor thing was over here with her asthma pump every chance she got,” Fino said.

On the other hand, Weslaco High senior La Kysha Saldivar put together a superb second half to carry her team to the area round. She scored 12 of Weslaco High’s 18 second-half points and was the key to the Lady Panthers’ defensive charge that proved to be the difference in the game.

Saldivar and company completely dominated the boards and ultimately played a more disciplined game to advance to the second round.

“I felt amazing out there, as a senior I have to be a leader, and that’s what it took today,” Saldivar said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about who wants it more, and I felt like we wanted it more and it showed.”