KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO—Harlingen South and San Benito rang in the new year in fashion. Tuesday’s match up had a little bit of everything where we saw seven players score in double figures while it took four quarters and a pair of overtimes to decide a winner between the Hawks and Hounds.

Harlingen South used a strong performance from Grant Lowery who drilled a game-high 22 points followed by a 19-point performance from Aaron Briones en route to a 66-63 win in double overtime and upping their district record to 2-0.

“We talked about the mental side of it at half-time,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina. “I wanted our kids to play the game the right way. In the end it was two great teams and it really came down to the final possessions.”

After a sluggish first quarter, Harlingen South found their form with a strong second quarter led by Lowery’s seven-point quarter and held a comfortable 29-15 lead at the break.

Despite holding a 14-point lead at the break, no lead was safe for the Hawks all afternoon long. San Benito answered and adjusted in the second half.
Aaron Medrano paced the Hounds offense and led the comeback in the third quarter. After an 8-0 run from the Hawks, San Benito trailed 36-15 and the game looked to be in hand for the Hawks.

All second half long the Hounds got big plays from Leroy Garcia and Medrano who drilled a three pointer that cut the lead to three at 50-47 in the final two minutes. The biggest play came when Medrano completed a three-point play to tie the game at 54 to force the first overtime.

“Anytime we play San Benito it’s going to be a rivalry,” Molina said. “That’s just a testament to how tough our district is. Each night we need to come ready to play, today San Benito came out and played tough, we had opportunities to put the game away and they just kept fighting and hit some big shots. We hurt our-selves by missing some free throws, but I will take a win any day in this district.”

Both teams would man-age to score four points each in the first overtime and it was South who made the final push to hold on. After taking a 60-58 lead, the Hawks forced a turnover to seal the win in the second overtime.

“This is a big win for us going forward,” Lowery said. “It was a tough thrilling win for us, it’s not the way we wanted to win but we got it done. My team-mates did a great job on passing the ball and giving me good shots. Coach wanted us to stay calm and not rush anything or force turnovers. I think going forward this type of win will help us, because we were in such a pressure situation we will have that experience.”

Despite the loss, San Benito saw Medrano drop 19 points; Jeremey Sauceda netted 15 while David Sanchez and Nathaniel Garcia scored 10 each.
San Benito will now prepare for road game at Brownsville Hanna on Friday at 6. Meanwhile South will welcome in Weslaco Friday at 1.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN—The Cardinals began district play with a thrilling 68-66 win against Weslaco High on Friday. The Cards are brimming confidence, and one key piece has been their senior center Matthew Sesler. The 6 foot 5 center has provided a presence inside the paint. Sesler leads the team in total rebounds with 132, while averaging 10 points per game and is second on the team in blocked shots with nine. The Valley Morning Star had a chance to catch up with Sesler.

Q: With district play starting up, what are some things we can look forward to in this district?

A: This district is a really competitive one, so hopefully there will be some good games.

Q: The team is off to a great start, what has it been like so far being a part of this year’s group?

A: This has been a great group of guys to be around, not only on the court but off.

Q: This is your senior season, has it clicked that this is your final season as a Cardinal?

A:It has clicked, my dad told me that in the future when I look back at it that I won’t remember the games that have been played, I’ll remember the experiences I had spent with my teammates.

Q: Do you have any plans after high school?

A: I intend to go to school to study engineering and play baseball.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that we might not know?

A: I actually don’t watch a lot of the NBA, I really like to watch more of college games.

Q: Who is your favorite center in the NBA and why?

A: He isn’t playing anymore but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because he had that very smooth looking hook shot that he could hit from anywhere on the court.

Q: Over the off-season, what were some things you worked on to improve your game?

A: I worked on getting in better shape because I knew that this year I would have to go longer than I did last year.

Q: If you could have one super power what would It be and why?

A: If I could have any super power I would probably want to be able to teleport to different places so it wouldn’t waste a lot of time to travel.

Q: What is the best part on playing the center position?

A: It’s hard to be a center because you’re facing guys your size and bumping and fighting for rebounds and shots, but that’s what makes it fun.

Q: If you could have dinner with anyone in history who would it be and why?

A: It would have to be my two grandpas because I would really like to see them again, we can talk about sports and I know that they would be very proud of the person that I have grown into.

KEVIN NARRO | VALLEY MORNING STAR

HARLINGEN — After an 11-day break, Harlingen didn’t skip a beat against Donna North Wednesday afternoon.

The Cards used a strong first quarter from their offense to breeze past the Chiefs 74-14 in their final non-district game of the season.

Harlingen got some strong play from their big three; Jeremey Vasquez scored a game high 20 points, Michael Arellano dished out 18 while Mat-thew Sesler added 15.

Big Reds offense has scored 70 plus points in three straight games and on Wednesday their offense continued to roll. In the opening quarter, Harlingen outscored Donna North 24-4 with Arellano netting 14 first quarter points.

At the half it was all Cards who held a comfort-able 37-10 lead.

“We have been preparing to get back on the court every day in practice, so it feels like we haven’t missed a beat coming into today’s game,” Vasquez said. “Today our defense stepped up in the second half, we were able to keep the pressure up. Offensively we kept the ball moving, in our offense we play for each other and it all worked out for us.”

Harlingen finished the non-district portion of the season with an 18-5 record, and along the way picked up a tournament win at the C.E Vail and had a strong showing at the Tri-City Tournament earlier this month.

“It’s good to be back on the court and get our legs back under us,” said Harlingen coach Greg Yates. “We had a full practice this morning and got after it, we’re trying to get better each day and prepare for district.”

The Cards begin their district play with Weslaco Friday Dec 29 with the tip off set for 3:30 at Weslaco. Weslaco presents multiple challenges in rising star Safi Fino and arguably one of the top all around players in Braxton Bloomquist.

“It’s amazing we have played 23 games and we haven’t started district play yet,” Yates said. “It’s nice to have a good record but now this is the time to get after it. I have watched our district play and it’s going to be tough, they do a good job on getting after it and we need to get there too.”

KEVIN NARRO | VALLEY MORNING STAR

SAN BENITO — On Thursday, senior Joanna Gonzalez became the second Lady Greyhound this season to ink her letter of intent to play softball at the college level. Gonzalez signed on to take her talents to San Antonio’s Our Lady of the Lake University.

“I went to a softball camp there on campus and the coaches liked what they saw and I was offered a spot,” Gonzalez said. “My travel coach told me about the camp so I decided to attend the camp. I really liked the church, that caught my attention and just the campus itself was beautiful.”

Gonzalez made the move from third base to catcher last season as a junior and was named The Valley Morning Stars Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior, Gonzalez provided a steady hand behind the plate with a .944 fielding percentage while committing just one error through 32 games. “I plan on taking what they give me,” Gonzalez said. “I love to play and I’m ready to fill in wher-ever they need me,”

Our Lady of the Lake is a part of the Red River Athletic Conference and participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Gonzalez plans to major in accounting.

“This has always been a goal of mine,” said Gonzalez. “I have been playing (softball) for 10 years now and going to college has always been a priority of mine. When I was 12 I realized I could play at the next level. I saw the older girls sign and go play so I wanted to do the same and now that I have signed I feel relieved and I’m ready to get the season started.”

“I’m going to have to grow up a little bit more, because I’ll be on my own. I’ll have to manage my time a lot more and get used to the different schedules for sure. I know the college level is a lot quicker so I know I’ll have to adjust to that as well.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

SAN BENITO — On Thursday, senior Joanna Gonzalez became the second Lady Greyhound this season to ink her letter of intent to play softball at the college level. Gonzalez signed on to take her talents to San Antonio’s Our Lady of the Lake University.

“I went to a softball camp there on campus and the coaches liked what they saw and I was offered a spot,” Gonzalez said. “My travel coach told me about the camp so I decided to attend the camp. I really liked the church, that caught my attention and just the campus itself was beautiful.”

Gonzalez made the move from third base to catcher last season as a junior and was named The Valley Morning Stars Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior, Gonzalez provided a steady hand behind the plate with a .944 fielding percentage while committing just one error through 32 games.

“I plan on taking what they give me,” Gonzalez said. “I love to play and I’m ready to fill in wherever they need me,”

Our Lady of the Lake is a part of the Red River Athletic Conference and participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Gonzalez plans to major in accounting.

“This has always been a goal of mine,” said Gonzalez. “I have been playing (softball) for 10 years now and going to college has always been a priority of mine. When I was 12 I realized I could play at the next level. I saw the older girls sign and go play so I wanted to do the same and now that I have signed I feel relieved and I’m ready to get the season started.”

“I’m going to have to grow up a little bit more, because I’ll be on my own. I’ll have to manage my time a lot more and get used to the different schedules for sure. I know the college level is a lot quicker so I know I’ll have to adjust to that as well.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

LA FERIA — After a sluggish start in the first half, La Feria found their form and used a strong third quarter to breeze past Santa Maria 41-18 Thurs-day night in La Feria.

The Lionettes led 17-8 at the half and held the Lady Cougars’ offense in check for their fourth consecutive victory.

“We got into some foul trouble in the first half,” said La Feria coach Angel Martinez. “When we get into foul trouble we have to tone back our defense and that is something we’re not use to doing. When we slow down our defense it slows down our offense and we can’t go as fast as we’d like.”

La Feria saw their offense sputter in the first half and struggled from the floor. Myah Salas, who had been on a role the last few weeks, only scored one point in the first half and finished the evening with six points.

On a night where the Lionettes offense was not on point, La Feria needed a spark and got one right out of the gate in the second half from Karina Diaz. The Lionettes began the third quarter on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 26-8 lead.

Diaz provided the pop for La Feria while netting a game high 10 points, while teammate Kayla Lowe directed the offense and scored five points in the win.

“Defensively we were not talking in the first half,” Lowe said. “In the second half we talked more and picked up the tempo and our offense fed off of it and we were able to get rolling. We have some time off, but we will continue to work and get better.”

La Feria wound up out-scoring Santa Maria 13-4 in the third quarter and continued to control the tempo in the final quarter. With the win, La Feria has now won four in a row and will have a five-day break.

Their next opponent will be against Corpus Christi King at Corpus next Thursday. Meanwhile, Santa Maria will have a date with Brownsville Frontier on Dec 29.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinals boys basketball team is off to a strong start this season.

Big Red has a tournament championship under their belt along with some quality wins. The Cards are currently 17-5 on the season and will begin District 32-6A play Dec. 29 at Weslaco High.

A large part of the Cardinals’ success has come from junior point guard Michael Arellano. The crafty southpaw is in his second full season on the varsity and has been the fuel to the Cards’ offense.

“Last year, I was selfish and didn’t really focus on the team,” Arellano said. “I realized this year that you can’t win without a team and this year our chemistry is there, and we all work together and put in the work to get better.”

Through 22 games this season, Arellano is averaging a team high 18.2 points per game and second on the team in offensive rebounds with 26. Arellano leads the team in steals with 58 and is second on the team in assists with 47.

Last season, he was tabbed the Valley Moring Star’s All-STAR Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore. From last season to now, Arellano has seen his defensive and passing game improve, and he has emerged as a team leader.

“It helps when you have such an amazing team and coaching staff,” Arellano said. “They put in just as much work as I do and we all work to-gether. It’s fun to be a part of it. This year, I stepped up my game defensively. Last season, I wasn’t very good on the defensive end and basket-ball is a two-way sport.”

With the district season on the horizon, Harlingen is in prime position to make some noise in what will be a tough 32-6A with games against Weslaco, Brownsville Hanna, Harlingen South and Los Fresnos.

Coach Greg Yates feels optimistic about his team’s chances and is confident in Arellano to guide Harlingen into district play.

“He has worked on his mental side of the game and has become a lot tougher,” Yates said. “Over the summer he refined his skills and be-came a better player overall. He gets our offense moving and we do stress playing defense. We want our offense to come from our defense and he has bought into that. He has quick feet and a good shot.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

WESLACO — In a battle between a pair of basketball heavyweights, Weslaco High and Harlingen High did battle for the first time in District 32-6A play this season on Tuesday, and the contest did not disappoint.

Bree Pena’s floater gave Weslaco a 43-42 lead with 40 seconds left and proved to be the clincher as the Lady Panthers won 44-42.

Weslaco upped their record to 3-0 in league play (21-4 overall) while Harlingen fell to 2-1 (18-7 overall). Weslaco will now shift its focus to Laredo United South on Dec. 30 while the Lady Cards don’t play against until the new year.

“It was a great game, but this district is going to be full of great games,” said Weslaco coach Griselda Fino. “I tip my hat to Harlingen, They played great on the road and I’m looking forward to the rest of our district and round two against them.”

In the third quarter, Harlingen got some strong play from its offense, especially from Alyssa Cervantes, who scored nine points in the quar-ter. Heading into the fourth quarter, Weslaco trailed 38-32.

But in the final period, Weslaco made adjustments and fed off of its stars Pena and Emily Saenz. Pena scored a quick four points to give Wes-laco a 40-38 lead late in the game. She finished the contest with a game high 16 points while Saenz had 12.

“We have a great set of kids, especially with our senior captains in Bree and Emily,” Fino said. “We have been in a hole before and the kids know how to respond. Tonight we found a way to fight back and this is where all the hard work pays off, and they came out and did it one point at a time.”

The Lady Cards had plenty of opportunities slip through their fingers, but none was bigger than a missed jumper by Nadia Flores with 2.5 seconds left that would have given Harlingen the lead.

“From the third quarter to the fourth, we let up and were not as aggressive to the basket as we were in the third quarter, and that’s what changed for us,” said Harlingen head coach Ashley Moncivaiz. “We need to keep working and get better because in this district it’s going to be tough, and we need to be prepared each night.”

In the loss, Flores scored 12 points while Cervantes led the way with 15.

The Lady Cards will now have their winter break and will hit the court against Weslaco East at home on Jan. 2.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

PHARR — Both Harlingen and Harlingen South wrapped up their final tournament play of the season at the Tri-City Classic this weekend. Both will now have their winter break before they hit the court again.

Harlingen began its tournament play with a 3-0 start with wins over PSJA, La Joya and Edcouch-Elsa.

On Friday, the Cardinals picked up a 75-57 win against La Joya before falling to eventual tournament champions Edinburg High 54-50.

Harlingen found itself in the consolation bracket and picked up a 78-45 win against McAllen Memorial, but lost in the fifth place game to Laredo Alexander 75-74. Against the Mustangs, Antonio Aguilar scored a team high 23 points and hit six threes with four of them coming in the first quarter. Michael Arellano netted 21 points in the win and drilled five three pointers.

Harlingen will now prepare for a home game on Dec. 27 against Donna North with the tip off set for 2:30 p.m.

HAWKS REACH CONSOLATION FINAL, GO 3-3 IN TOURNEY PLAY: For a second straight tournament, Harlingen South found itself in the consolation final, but this time fell short against San Antonio Antonian 77-75. Aaron Briones scored 36 points in the loss and was named to the all-tournament team.

Along the way, South picked up wins against PSJA North, Brownsville Veterans and San Antonio Veterans.

South wrapped up the Tri-City Classic with a 3-3 record and will now prepare for their district opener against Brownsville Hanna at home on Dec. 29 with tipoff set for 3:30 p.m.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

Myah Salas certainty left her mark on La Feria volleyball. Salas, who is an all-around athlete, helped guide the Lionettes to a second straight district titles this season.

Her efforts earned her the Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR Most Valuable Player award.

—

Q: Looking back on the last few years, what has been the best memory you have of playing volleyball at La Feria?
A: Enjoying the moments my sophomore year when the seniors made me feel welcomed and being part of the team.

Q: What work did you do in the offseason that helped you raise your game this season?
A: I suffered a major thumb injury in early March and it was really hard for me to not physically be able to do anything, but my doctor told me to be patient. I did exactly what he asked me to do with the hope of being cleared sooner than mid-July. In June, I got the good news and was released. My body welcomed the much-needed rest and I felt that I came out more determined and stronger. I started to go to open gym and play in the summer leagues with my teammates.

Q: What plans do you have for the future?
A: I’m looking forward to playing basketball at the next level at Central Methodist University and majoring in professional communica-tion/sports management.

Q: Looking back at the season, what was your best moment?
A: Playing our last district game against Raymondville to decide the district championship. Celebrating the win to be back-to-back district champions and on the same night achieving my career best of 37 kills.

Q: Who is your favorite athlete?
A: Maya Moore because I remember seeing her on the UConn team play in San Antonio in the Final Four. She has become a good role model. She plays hard in every game and has a strong work ethic.

Q: What will you miss the most about playing volleyball?
A: The friendships I’ve made and the team dinners.

Q: What team was the toughest you faced this season?
A: Somerset in the area round. In every set we had a lead and we couldn’t put it away. We made mental mistakes and Somerset took advan-tage of that.

Q: Do you have any pre-game routine?
A: I usually start my pre-game the night before by eating pasta and watching film on our opponent. I usually listen to music when we play out of town and during home games I just want quiet time.

Q: What was it like playing for coach Reba Fraga?
A: I would like to thank Coach Fraga for giving me the opportunity as an underclassman to play on the varsity. She is a fair coach and will find a way for her team to be successful. I enjoyed playing for her.

Q: What does it mean to you to win the All-STAR MVP award?
A: It’s an amazingly great honor. It is a representation of hard work and commitment to the sport. I feel that if you set your mind to some-thing, it can be achieved. I would like to thank my parents for their time and sacrifices, my coaches for allowing me to grow stronger every year, and my teammates for believing in me because without them this award would not have been possible!”

2017 All-STAR Team

Coach of the Year
Sofia Garcia, Santa Maria

1st Team
-Naisah Garcia, Santa Rosa
-Bianca Cruz, Rio Hondo
-Annelle Rodriguez, Harlingen South
-Yazmine Martinez, Harlingen
-Adrian Duran, Lyford
-Kayleen Reyes, San Benito

2nd Team
-Sarah Garcia, San Benito
-Skyler Ruiz, Santa Rosa
-Marialy Salinas, Lyford
-Destiny Martinez, La Feria
-Camreon Del Angel, Harlingen South
-Taegan Dickey, Harlingen