MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — The San Benito Greyhounds’ defense came out and never let the Hanna Golden Eagles’ offense get into a rhythm, but their offense couldn’t get out of its own way.

The Golden Eagles took advantage of that and did just enough in the end to escape with a 46-39 victory over the Greyhounds in the District 32-6A opener Friday night in San Benito.

Up by two with less than four minutes to play, Hanna went on its final run of the game, outscoring San Benito 8-2 to close it out.

“It think what we saw was just two teams coming off a holiday break,” Hanna coach Fermin Lucio said. “Both started kind of slow. But once we caught our footing, (San Benito) was hitting shots; we started playing our game, going inside out. It took time for both teams to get going and we just made our free throws, made the stops that we needed and got the rebounds that we needed. That was the key.”

While the Golden Eagles (14-13, 1-0) stayed stagnant the entire night and didn’t take a lead until the early third quarter, it stayed within striking distance as San Benito (6-11, 0-1) turned the ball over 22 times and never led by more than five points.

“For basketball, there are two big factors: turnovers and rebounds,” San Benito coach Eddie Abrego said. “We did fair rebounding, but the turnovers were horrible. We had an opportunity in the end to make a shot, and we coughed it up again. I told (the team) that the great teams keep can keep that number under 10. I know they’re young, but you have to take ownership. We didn’t give ourselves an opportunity.

“This is Game 1 (of district). It was a pivotal game, but we have to bounce back, have a good practice (today) and get us going for Tuesday.”

Leading the way for Hanna was Isaac Iracheta with 14 points, followed by Victor Campos with 13.

San Benito’s Aaron Reyes led the ‘Hounds with 14 points, and David Juarez added 10.

Hanna trailed 5-0 early and didn’t score its first points until the 3:59 mark of the first quarter, when Fernie Camacho split a pair of free throws. That was soon followed by the team’s first field goal of the night on a make by Iracheta.

After a 3-pointer from San Benito’s Devin Rubio put his team up 14-9 early in the second, the Greyhounds hit just once more from the field in the quarter on a trey from Juarez.

That stand left the door open for the Golden Eagles to make a push and make it a 20-20 game at the half.

Lucio said his team’s defense in the first half was key Friday night and will continue to be going forward.

“It is district, and we’re going up against top teams every Tuesday and Friday,” the Hanna coach said. “(Defense) was the biggest positive. Maybe our shots weren’t falling like we wanted, but we got stops when we needed and we got stops throughout the game consistently.”

After Camacho made a pair of freebies to give Hanna its first lead, a make from San Benito’s Juan Constante and a 3 from Marcos Valdez put the ‘Hounds up 25-22.

The Golden Eagles went ahead for good soon after with an 8-0 run, led by a pair of baskets in the paint by Campos.

After Campos’ three-point play late in the fourth quarter made it 41-39, Reyes hit his second 3 of the quarter to make it a two-point game.

San Benito continued to turn the ball over and did not get the stops down the stretch, as Hanna scored the final five points of the game.

“We had an opportunity there at the end to get a shot and we coughed it up again,” Abrego said. “We played good defense (tonight), but to cough it up in the next moment is disrespectful to yourself. We’ve been harping on it, and we’ve been getting better. We just didn’t put together a great game. Our kids are a little upset with themselves, and it sits in their mind and makes us better.”

Hanna continues district play Tuesday night at Los Fresnos, and San Benito hits the road to take on Rivera. Both games are slated for 6 p.m.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—The old adage ‘To be the man, you gotta beat the man’ still holds true. That will be the case when Los Fresnos travels to Harlingen High as District 32-6A play tips off at 6 p.m.

The Falcons have won four straight district titles and have been one of the Valley’s top basketball programs over the last few years.

While Harlingen on paper is a favorite to win the district, the road still goes through Los Fresnos.

“We are excited and ready to get district going,” Cardinals senior point guard Michael Arellano, said. “All of us seniors know what it takes and Los Fresnos is again a tough team. They are quick, aggressive and shoot really well. We are ready and blessed to be able to play a team like the Falcons.”

Los Fresnos enters district play winners of two straight and hold a 16-7 record.

“We know Harlingen is the favorite this year, and they have one of the best players in the Valley in Arellano, but our guys are ready for the challenge,” Falcons coach Marco Hinojosa said. “The kids put in the work all off season and they have grown up a lot. Our preseason schedule was as tough as anyone’s, but I have been very pleased with the way the kids have worked and we are excited to get going.”

Harlingen meanwhile is 15-10 on the year and will look to put their best foot forward against the Falcons.

“Every game is important for us, and if we are able to start the year off with a win, it would be a big confidence booster for us,” Arellano said. “We know what is at stake, we know what our goals are and our first goal is to win district then we will worry about the playoffs. But today, the focus is on Los Fresnos.”

Harlingen South has begun to hit their stride ahead of its district opener at Brownsville Rivera.

Last year, Rivera surprised the district and wound up with the fourth seed, leaving South out of the playoffs despite an 8-6 league record.

The Hawks enter district play with a 16-10 record, with their last game coming on Jan.1 against Edinburg Vela. With the time off, the Hawks will enter league play rested and polished.

“The kids are anxious to get back on the court,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina. “We have had about a 10-day layoff, but it was a good break. It gave us an opportunity to fine-tune some things on the offensive end.”

The new six-team district presents a unique challenge with 10 district games and each game being as magnified as the season moves forward.

“I told the kids that this district race is going to be a sprint rather than a marathon that we are used to,” Molina said. “We can’t a ford to not show up one night and fall behind early, especially in this district.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—Harlingen CISD will host its annual Winter Splash Bash Invitational starting today with the diving events at 10:15 a.m., followed by the swimming events Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

“Every year we have two meets, one in the fall and one in the winter here in Harlingen,” said Cardinals swim coach Daniel Uresti. “We are expecting about 20 schools to compete over the weekend.”

Both Harlingen and Harlingen South will take action, along with Brownsville Pace, Hanna, Veterans and St. Joseph Academy. Other schools from around the Rio Grande Valley ecpected to compete are Edinburg Economedes, Sharyland Pioneer, Roma and Sharyland High.

Seven Laredo schools will also make the trip to Harlingen with Laredo Nixon, Cigarroa, L.B Johnson, Martin, United, and United South all listed to compete. Others will be Valley Christian High School, Corpus Christi John Paul II and Corpus Christi Carroll High School.

For the Cardinals, a few swimmers to keep an eye on are, senior Ian Fredrickson in the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke and McKenna Stock in the 200 and 100 freestyle.

Both the Hawks and Cardinals see the event as not only an opportunity to get better and compete, but also as one final tune up before their district meet later this month in Weslaco.

“The kids are coming off their winter break,” Uresti said. “So there is some rust we need to shake and off and with these meets you never know what can happen. We have had a few practices so we are looking to get into a grove and prepare for district.”

As for the Hawks, sophomore Justin Diaz is looking to make an impact in the 200 free style and 100 breast stroke. Diaz, who qualified for the state meet as a freshman, is looking to pick up where he left off.

Along with Diaz, Pasquale Davila, Erick Verlarde, Brandon Ibarra and divers Jason Luckey, Seth Garza and May Kennedy all are hoping to have big outings this weekend.

“We work hard every day,” Harlingen South coach Hector Castaneda said. “We see this as an opportunity to go out there and compete and get better. We have so many meets and we see every opportunity to see where our kids are at. We are hosting the meet, but the goal in mind is district and regionals.”

BY KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

The first week of district play is in the books and both Harlingen and Harlingen South sit atop district 32-6A with clean 2-0 records.

Harlingen picked up road wins against San Benito and Brownsville Hanna. While the Lady Cards are favored to win the league title, the big news is the Lady Hawks who are off to a hot start.

After earning a win at home against Los Fresnos in their district opener, the Lady Hawks slipped past San Benito 34-25 Tuesday night.

Karla Reyes and Laura Ramirez led the offense with Reyes scoring nine points and Ramirez finishing with eight points in the win.

“After a slow start to the year, we are pleased with how well we have been gelling,” said South coach Kelly Garrett. “Despite our early struggles, we feel like we are starting to hit our stride.”

Up next is a matchup at Brownsville Rivera on Friday night at 7:30.

For the Lady Hounds, they drop to 0-2 in district play and will look to rebound at home against Brownsville Hanna on Friday at 7:30.

In the loss, senior Haley Lopez led all scorers with 14 points, while teammate Karen Vega netted six points.

LADY BOBCATS STAY HOT

Three Lady Bobcats scored in double figures led by Estrella Garza, who scored a game-high 12 points in a 70-25 road win over Grulla Tuesday night.

Rio Hondo is now 5-1 in district play and will welcome Port Isabel Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Tarpons are 3-3 in district play and are looking to bounce back after a 54-36 loss against Hidalgo.

The Lady Cats are currently in second place in district with their only blemish coming against Hidalgo.

Taylor Gomez and Jazaline Ayala each scored 11 points, Natalie Martinez scored nine and Amanda Gomez finished with eight points against Grulla.

BEARKATS KEEPING PACE

The Raymondville Bearkats won their second straight game Tuesday night, defeating Progreso 51-44.

Aaron Castillo finished with a game-high 21 points; Jacob Posas netted 14 and Xavier Ledesma scored seven points in the win.

Raymondville is now 3-1 in district play and will now take on La Feria Friday at 8 p.m.

TROJANS START DISTRICT WITH A BANG

San Perlita won their district opener 96-49 Tuesday night against Lasara.

Four Trojans finished in double figures led by Tige Johnson, who scored a game-high 17 points. EJ Nieto and Jake Howell each scored 16 points, while Eli Terry scored 10 points.

Up next is an early battle for district bragging rights against San Isidro with the tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SANTA ROSA — Mike Bermea, who scored a game-high 17 points, led seven Santa Rosa Warriors in double figures during a 110-2 win over Brownsville IDEA Riverview on Tuesday in Santa Rosa.

The Warriors shot well from beyond the arc. Santa Rosa hit eight 3-pointers during the first half. Rey Davila and Ruben Ochoa each hit a pair of 3s in the first quarter.

Bermea, a junior, was held scoreless during the first quarter. It was in the second quarter that Bermea found his mojo, scoring 12 points and hitting two 3-pointers.

CJ Olivarez, Chris Vela, Davila and Adam Cavazos scored 10 points apiece. Ochoa netted 14 points, and David Bazaldua finished with 16 points.

“We have two freshmen, six sophomores and four juniors on this year’s team,” Warriors coach Johnny Cipriano said. “We don’t have any seniors on this year’s team. What I like about this group is they can all contribute in some shape or form.”

The Warriors are 7-0 in district play with one game left in the first half, against Vanguard Alamo on Friday night. The second half of 32-3A play will continue Tuesday at home against Monte Alto.

“We are still trying to get better at certain things and, yes, we are young, but we are good,” Cipriano said. “The kids are understanding the system, and they are able to shoot their shots and make them. They can put pressure when we need to and back off when we need to.”

While the Warriors are a young squad, Santa Rosa is in control of its destiny as it looks for its 15th straight district title. With an entire second half left in the season, there is still time for the Warriors to come full circle.

“I don’t think we have fully peaked just yet,” Cipriano said. “There have been some games when we are hitting on all throttles and we were able to score and get steals, but we have had really good games and some bad games where things didn’t go our way.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — With the start of the softball season less than two weeks away, the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats welcomed some familiar faces as they hosted their first Legends Camp on Saturday.

The camp offered an opportunity for former Lady ’Cats who are playing or have played at the college level to step in and share their knowledge, and give pointers from hitting, fielding and pitching.

The camp was directed by Miranda Martinez, who is playing at Texas A&M International University; Annie and Abbie Alvarado, who are at Sul Ross University; Tianna Sandoval; Alexa Castellanos, who spent time at Sul Ross; and Bianca Cruz, who is at Prairie View A&M.

“I really liked the idea of the camp,” Cruz said. “It gives us older girls a chance to give back to the program and offer them an opportunity to see and learn what we know. We gave them an image on how high school can make a difference down the road.”

Cruz, who played outfield for the Lady ’Cats, offered some insight on different outfield drills she has learned during the past few months.

“I showed them a lot of different techniques in the outfield, and I’m playing left field now,” Cruz said. “So I’ve learned a few new things, and I was able to share it with the girls today.”

Both Martinez and Annie Alvarado made their careers in the circle while at Rio Hondo. Annie Alvarado also spent time in the middle infield and had plenty to share.

The message was clear, and that was for the current Lady ’Cats to stay hungry and that anything is possible.

“Today I wanted the girls to know that anything is possible,” Annie Alvarado said. “Last year we had a miracle season, not a lot of people believed in us and didn’t think we could go as far as we did. This year there is plenty of talent and some of them were with us last year, so they know and understand the expectation. It was great to be back home and giving back. I still can’t believe I’m out of high school.”

Martinez who graduated in 2017, was a part of the regional final team, has been away for two years but was excited to give back.

“It is a great feeling, being able to share what I have learned while being away from home,” Martinez said. “There are different adjustments you have to make, and being able to share it with the girls is great. My message to them was to just work hard, and time management, that is very important when you get to college. It is hard to manage your classes and softball and traveling on the road. It’s important to balance it and use your time wisely.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Despite the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons leading for most of the first half and the opening minutes of the second, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks managed to stay within striking distance.

The Lady Hawks seized the momentum for good during the final minutes of the third as they got to the paint consistently on offense and held Los Fresnos to just six points in the quarter on defense, ultimately leading to a 66-55 victory in the District 32-6A opener Friday afternoon at Harlingen South.

Down by two, the Lady Hawks (1-0 in district) mounted a 9-0 run to end the third quarter and led by as many as 12 points early in the fourth quarter with Karla Reyes and Dolores Mendoza penetrating the painted area at-will.

Harlingen South coach Kelly Garrett said it was her’s team’s defense that fueled the run, as it held Los Fresnos (0-1 in district) to 20 points in the second after giving up 35 in the first.

“I think we had better intensity defensively,” she said. “We got more stops defensively and we went possession by possession, and I said, ‘Let’s get a stop and we’ll work it on offense.’ We were able to attack the basket and get to the foul line and get some shots in. The girls kept the intensity up. We started slow in the beginning of the game, but once we got it going in the second quarter, the third quarter came along and our girls were in their mode.”

Reyes finished with a team-high 23 and Mendoza followed with 16. As a team, the Lady Hawks went 16 of 25 from the line.

“I think if a couple of more shots had fallen and we make a couple of more free throws and (South) makes less shots, it’s a totally different game,” Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez said. “That’s part of the game, I guess. All we can do as a whole is grow and learn from games like this. Hopefully next time around, we have different execution, more focus and little more discipline. I am really happy with the team effort that we saw today overall. I’m excited to keep getting better and try to strive for that district title.”

The Lady Falcons’ offense struggled from the field in the second half, recording just six field goals. Five of those came from Ari Gallardo, who scored a game-high 33 points, including 18 in the first half to lead the Falcons.

“We knew (Gallardo) was going to get her points,” Garrett said. “We knew if we did a better job of shutting down the other girls, we’d have a better shot of winning the game.

Los Fresnos got going early as a pair of 3-point shots from Gallardo and six points from Lorna Camarillo paced the Lady Falcons to a 20-15 lead after one quarter.

Reyes went to work in the second quarter as she attacked the paint, leading to a trio of three-point plays and a 14-point quarter, putting the Lady Hawks on the heels of the Lady Falcons.

The South penetration put Los Fresnos defenders on their toes and got a few players into foul trouble.

“I just think we got stuck in mud and stopped moving our feet,” Valdez said. “I just think we got in mud, stopped moving our feet and tried playing defense with our hands instead of our feet. That’s something we have to fix for the next time around.”

Los Fresnos still took a 35-31 lead into the break as Gallardo scored 11 in the period and went a perfect 4 for 4 at the free-throw line.

In the third, a Reyes bucket tied the game at 41 and a Mendoza score with 2:16 left in the period gave South the lead for good and sparked what would be an 11-0 run.

A Camarillo trey stopped the bleeding for Los Fresnos and produced momentum, but South went on to win the quarter 18-14 and wrap up the game.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — The Harlingen High Lady Cardinals had one goal in mind Friday, and that was to start district play strong and to win their first district game.

Well, Harlingen High did just that in a 59-32 win over San Benito on Friday afternoon in San Benito. The win was fueled by the Lady Cardinals’ press defense and strong play from the bench.

Senior Andrea Cortez came off the bench and scored a team-high 10 points. Bianca Rodriguez added six points as Harlingen High won its fifth straight and improved to 20-5.

“Our bench got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Harlingen High coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “But if you look at the second half, they came in strong. They are all fast and compete really hard, and what I like about them is, they bring this different type of energy and the girls feed off of it and the fans do as well.”

The depth on the Lady Cardinals’ bench gives them an added tool with the district season starting. While Harlingen High got off to a slow start on offense and was only leading 11-4 at the end of the first quarter, the offense warmed up and it was the team’s defense that kept the Lady ’Hounds in check by yielding eight points in the second quarter and seven in the third quarter.

Taegan Dickey, Ariel Leal and Avery Hinojosa each scored six points in the win. The big quarters came during the second half for the Lady Cards, whose bench extended their lead to 33-17 late in the third period.

“The girls stepped up and started competing harder in the second half when it came down to it on defense,” Moncivaiz said. “Their energy also was big, and we were able to execute on offense. In the first half, the ball just wasn’t rolling our way.”

Along with the fiery bench play and stout solid five comes sophomore sharpshooter Alexus Coto. The point guard provides the starting five with a spark and a hot hand from 3-point land.

“Right now I’m feeling good,” Coto said. “We had that break and were able to get our legs back under us against Weslaco, and we were able to put a win together today against San Benito. It is important for us to get our first district win. I just come out here and try and help my team in any way possible.”

Harlingen High next travels to face Brownsville Hanna.

San Benito, meanwhile, fell to 11-15 on the year and will now shift its focus to Harlingen South.

In the loss, Tyesha Anaya netted a game-high 14 points. Haley Lopez scored eight, and Natalie Rosalez and Elvira Coronado scored four points apiece.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

The time has finally come for District 32-6A girls basketball to tipoff.

Play will open today and it will do so with a bang as Los Fresnos travels to Harlingen South; Brownsville Hanna meets Brownsville Rivera and Harlingen travels to San Benito to meet the Lady Greyhounds.

All games are set to tipoff at 3:30 p.m..

The Lady ’Hounds have endured a lot of roster turnover, with just one starter returning from last year in Haley Lopez.

Despite San Benito entering league play with an 11-14 record, head coach Abel Moreno feels optimistic heading into their matchup with Harlingen.

“The plan for us was to get as much experience as we could over the non-district portion of the season,” Moreno said. “We filled up our schedule with what we thought was a tough schedule. We needed it because the group we have is an older squad, but didn’t have as much minutes because last year’s squad played a bulk of the minutes. The girls did get the experience and we learned on who we are and who we are going to be.”

Along with Lopez, San Benito will look to their senior point guard Tyesha Anaya who will direct the offense this district season. Karen Vega, who is also learning to play the post position as a junior, will look to make an impact in 2019.

Harlingen High, meanwhile, enters district play well-rested and eager to write its own history in 2019. The Lady Cards (19-5) have won three straight and will look for their first district title since the 2016 season.

Harlingen was able to take in a 22-day hiatus during the holidays, but the Lady Cardinals didn’t miss a beat as they cruised past Weslaco 52-40 last Saturday.

The break gave Harlingen time to rest both mentally and physically and is one thing the Lady Cards look to take advantage of heading into district play.

“Even though we started slow against Weslaco, we were able to put things together and recover over the break,” said Harlingen coach Ashley Moncivaiz. “Some teams don’t get that much rest or don’t get the time to regroup. I’m a Spurs fan and I look at the things they do when it comes to rest and how they rest their players and we were able to do that. We will be able to play plenty of minutes down the stretch.”

Harlingen will lean on the senior leadership of Taegan Dickey, Alyssa Cervantes and Ariel Leal. The trio has taken the next step both on the court and off and have all embraced their leadership role with the underclassman.

“The girls have all worked just as hard this year,” Moncivaiz said. “The seniors have stepped in, have become leaders and have built chemistry with the younger girls and it translates over to the court.”

Harlingen South is looking to get back into the postseason in 2019. The Lady Hawks take on the Lady Falcons, who are a playoff team from last season.

South is 10-15 entering district play and is coming off a 42-36 loss against Edinburg Vela last week.

The chemistry and team work is one thing South head coach Kelly Garrett saw improve throughout the non-district season.

“Our record might not reflect it, but our girls have done a great job on just coming together, playing as one and being consistent.” Garrett said. “The girls knew from the start that district play was going to start after Christmas; it is something we all look forward too.”

The six-team district is a unique one, with each district game becoming magnified and there being less room for error.

Junior Karla Reyes has returned to the lineup after a season-ending knee injury a year ago. Along with Reyes is longtime junior teammate Laura Ramirez along with veteran Dolores Mendoza and Junior Bianca Gonzalez.

All will have a key hand this season for the Lady Hawks.

“We are guard-heavy, but I have plenty of girls who have played together for a long time,” Garrett said. “We just want to be consistent with girls coming off the bench and being consistent. Karla has come back strong, it took her a while to get back into the swing of things, but she is back and ready to go. She goes hard every day. We have had quite a few girls step up. It just depends on whose night it is and who will step up for us, but we have had plenty of girls step in and play well.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

The Santa Rosa Warriors kicked off the New Year with a 64-54 win over Lyford Wednesday afternoon. The win keeps the Warriors in first place with a 5-0 league record, while Lyford suffers their first district loss and is now 5-1.

Adam Cavazos netted a team-high 15 points and Mike Bermea finished with 10 in the win. The Warriors overcame a sluggish second half and held on for the win. Up next for Santa Rosa is a road trip at Brownsville Frontier on Friday.

Lyford will have another tough test Friday at San Perlita. For the Bulldogs, Ruben Gonzales scored a game-high 16 points, Ruben Torres scored 11 and JJ Romo added 10.

Rio Hondo, meanwhile, is coming off a 1-1 effort at the Kingsville Brahma Holiday Classic this past weekend.

The Bobcats fell to Gregory-Portland 51-42 and earned a 51-48 win over Santa Gertrudis Academy. Up next, the ’Cats will continue their district season at home against Raymondville.

District 32-6A play on the horizon and Harlingen High is heading in the right direction after winning four straight. The Cardinals are coming off a 63-58 win against Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial on Tuesday.

Up next for the Red Birds is a road game at Corpus Christi Miller Friday at 3:30.

The Miller game will serve as one final tune up before Harlingen High opens district play Jan. 11 at home against Los Fresnos.

Harlingen South is also another team finding their mojo before district after going 3-1 at the Bay City Classic.

The Hawks picked up a 69-43 win over Ganado, followed by a 78-45 win over Boling and a 51-42 loss to Bay City. South finished with a 78-45 against Palacios to wrap up a solid tournament showing.

The Hawks will now have time to rest up before they open up district play Jan. 11 at Brownsville Rivera.

“The little break we are getting before our first district game is coming at a really good time,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina. “It gives us a chance to get some practice time in and prepare for a tough district schedule.”

The San Benito Greyhounds will also be gearing up for their district opener on Jan. 11 when they host Brownsville Hanna.