Georgetown tournament

At Round Rock

Thursday’s Games

Georgetown East View, 4 Mission Veterans 2

Mission Veterans 5, Dripping Springs 2

Border Olympics

At Laredo

Thursday’s games

Laredo LBJ 2, Zapata 2 (LBJ wins on tiebreaker)

Houston Westside 18, Laredo United South 7

Houston Milby 5, Laredo United South 1

Pasadena Dobie 7, Laredo Martin 5

CC Ray 6, Brandeis 4

South San Antonio 6, Weslaco High 4

CC Moody 11, PSJA North 1

Laredo United South 4, Edinburg High 4 (Edinburg wins on tiebreaker)

New Braunfels 4, La Joya Palmview 0

Laredo United 8, Edinburg North 2

Eagle Pass 8, Laredo Nixon 2

Calallen 7, La Joya High 0

CC King 15, SA Madison 1

Edinburg North 10, Flour Bluff 0

Leander Rouse 8, Eagle Pass Winn 2

Laredo Alexander 4, Brownsville Hanna 3

Smithson Valley 18, Donna North 3

Del Rio 5, PSJA High 2

SA Johnson 4, Beeville 0

CC Ray 9, Laredo LBJ 0

Uvalde 9, Edinburg Vela 7

Tomball 16, Edcouch-Elsa 2

NB Canyon 4, Laredo Cigarroa 0

CC Veterans Memorial 7, Brownsville Hanna 4

Houston Westside 8, Del Rio 1

PSJA North 9, Pasadena Dobie 5

Leander Rouse 9, Weslaco High 1

Edinburg High 7, La Joya Palmview 5

Eagle Pass 8, Edcouch-Elsa 1

Edinburg Vela 5, SA Madison 4

Valley View 7, La Joya High 6

CC King 9, Hidalgo 1

17th annual Port Isabel/Los Fresnos Tournament

Thursday’s games

At Port Isabel

Port Isabel 10, PSJA Southwest 0

Edinburg Economedes 6, Falfurrias 3

Brownsville Veterans 3, Weslaco East 2

CC Miller 1, El Paso Ysleta 1 (Ysleta advances on tiebreaker)

Port Isabel 6, Brownsville Veterans 4

At Los Fresnos

Los Frensos 15, Rio Hondo 0

Grulla 12, Donna High 6

CC London 11, Brownsville Lopez 4

Tuloso Midway 14, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 5

Los Fresnos 13, Grulla 0

McAllen Tournament

At McAllen

Thursday’s games

McAllen Memorial 14, Sharyland Pioneer 13

Robstown 7, Harlingen High 5

Roma 12, Robstown 11

PSJA Memorial 6, Sharyland Pioneer 2

McAllen Memorial 16, Mercedes 5

McAllen High 12, Brownsville Porter 1

McAllen High 19, Harlingen South 2

VALLEY-BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Class 6A Bi-district

McAllen High 67, Laredo Alexander 57

South San Antonio 87, La Joya High 32

Los Fresnos 68, PSJA Memorial 38

Weslaco High 56, Edinburg Economedes 48

Weslaco East 57, PSJA North 47

Harlingen South 42, Edinburg High 41

Laredo United 47, McAllen Memorial 40

Laredo United South 56, McAllen Rowe 53

Class 5A Bi-District

Sharyland Pioneer 75, Mercedes 73, OT

Brownsville Veterans Memorial 83, Roma 75

Laredo Martin 67, Brownsville Pace 50

Laredo Nixon 109, Edcouch-Elsa 78

Class 4A Bi-district

Sinton 58, La Feria 56, OT

Class 3A Bi-district

C.C. London 56, Edinburg IDEA Quest 33

Santa Rosa 95, Bishop 58

Santa Gerturudis 50, Lyford 36

Falfurrias 64, Brownsville IDEA Frontier 48

Class 2A Bi-district

Three Rivers 62, Lasara 57

Santa Maria 64, Benavides 24

San Perlita 78, Freer 46

Friday, Feb. 24

Class 6A Area Round

McAllen High at Harlingen South, 7:30 p.m.

Weslaco East vs. Lared United South at South San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Weslaco High vs. South San Antonio at C.C. Veterans Memorial, 7 p.m.

Class 5A Area Round

Sharyland Pioneer vs. C.C. Moody at Alice, 7:30 p.m.

VALLEY-GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals

Weslaco High 55, Laredo United 37

Friday, Feb. 24

Class 6A Regional Semifinals

Weslaco High vs. Brandeis at Laredo, 6 p.m.

VALLEY-BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Games

Bi-district

SHARYLAND PIONEER 75, MERCEDES 73, OT

Sharyland Pioneer 15 17 14 21 8— 75

Mercedes 13 13 26 15 6 — 73

SHARYLAND PIONEER (75) — Jordan Wilson 27, Andrew Ogletree 6, Jorge Suarez 10, Andre Garza 4, Braden Wilson 4, Mike Madrigal 18, Sean Curtis 6.

MERCEDES (73) — Roger Adame 9, Ryan Reyes 10, Jaime Rodriguez 26, Alex Rios 2, Joe Garcia 2, Rey Rincon 24.

HARLINGEN SOUTH 42, EDINBURG HIGH 41

Harlingen South 10 8 10 14 — 42

Edinburg High 6 15 19 7 — 41

HARLINGEN SOUTH (42) — Aaron Briones 1, Noah Perez 8, Brandon Benrrett 7, Grant Laowery 4, Chance Love 8, Sean Turrubientes 11.

EDINBURG HIGH (41) — Damien Garcia 11, Matthew Cruz 2, Antione Woodard 10, Mark Figeroua 4, Jesus Cantu 14.

RECORDS: Harlingen South 22-9.

WESLACO EAST 57, PSJA NORTH 47

PSJA North 6 14 13 14 — 47

Weslaco East 4 17 23 13 — 57

WESLACO EAST (57) — Mark Medrano 2, Jonathan Munoz 27, DJ Ramirez 4, JJ Garza 15, Felix Jimenez 7, Gabriel Rivera 4.

PSJA NORTH (47) — Anthony Chavez 12, Dante Galvan 11, Darren Fuentes 3, Damian Fuentes 5, Leo Torres 2, Randy Adame 6, Jose Rodriguez 8.

RECORDS: Weslaco East 18-15.

SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

Senior guard Jonathan Muñoz scored 27 points to lead Weslaco East to a 57-47 win over PSJA North on Tuesday at Weslaco in a Class 6A bi-district playoff game.

“He shot the ball very well,” Weslaco East coach Jorge Martinez said. “He kept us in it. At the end of the second quarter, he kind of went off and carried us. He hit a big 3 at the buzzer to help us go up by one at the half. After that, the team just started believing. We made a good run in the third quarter and outscored them. In the fourth quarter, we turned the ball over a little bit, but we were able to hit some big shots and free throws. And it worked out.”

Weslaco East dominated the glass, allowing for second-chance points and putting a stop to North’s momentum.

Weslaco East started the game a bit nervous and went down early, but the run by Muñoz to end the half gave the Wildcats all the confidence they needed. In the third quarter they pulled away and never looked back.

Including Muñoz, the Wildcats have seven seniors on the team, a stat that Martinez said helped on Tuesday.

“I think it helps a lot,” Martinez said. “We have some playoff experience from last year. Jonathan was very poised today, especially having that playoff experience under his belt.”

McALLEN HIGH 67, LAREDO ALEXANDER 57: At Alice, McAllen High advanced to the area round with the win, improving from last year’s bi-district round exit.

SOUTH SAN ANTONIO 87, LA JOYA HIGH 32: At Corpus Christi, La Joya High exited in the first round after making the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

HARLINGEN SOUTH 42, EDINBURG HIGH 41: At Edinburg, Harlingen South stole a road playoff win by edging out the Bobcats.

LAREDO UNITED 47, McALLEN MEMORIAL 40: At Zapata, the Mustangs were eliminated in the bi-district round after finishing the regular season 21-14.

LAREDO UNITED SOUTH 56, McALLEN ROWE 53: At Alice, Rowe was knocked out of the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 26-8 record.

CLASS 5A

LAREDO NIXON 109, EDCOUCH-ELSA 78: At Grulla, the Yellowjackets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after finishing the District 32-5A season with a 9-5 record.

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Non-District

Valley View 8, Hidalgo 4

McAllen Rowe 5, Brownsville Hanna 2

Brownsville Rivera 6, La Joya High 2

C.C. Veterans 7, Edinburg High 3

Sharyland High 9, Brownsville Lopez 8

Donna High 12, Roma 11

Rio Grande City 12, Grulla 1

Thursday, Feb. 23

McAllen Tournament

Laredo Border Olympics

Port Isabel Tournament

Monday, Feb. 20

Class 4A Bi-district

Aransas Pass 89, Grulla 55

Orange Grove 56, Hidalgo 51

West Oso 66, Zapata 46

La Feria vs. Sinton, not reported

Class 2A Bi-district

La Villa 66, Ben Bolt 64

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Class 6A Bi-district

McAllen High vs. Laredo Alexander at Alice, 6 p.m.

La Joya High vs. South San Antonio at C.C. Ray, 7 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at Los Fresnos, 7 p.m.

Edinburg Economedes at Weslaco High, 7 p.m.

PSJA North at Weslaco East, 7:30 p.m.

Harlingen South at Edinburg High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Memorial vs. Laredo United at Zapata, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Laredo United South at Alice, 8 p.m.

Class 5A Bi-District

Mercedes vs. Sharyland Pioneer at PSJA Southwest High School, 7 p.m.

Brownsville Veterans Memorial vs. Roma at PSJA High, 7 p.m.

Brownsville Pace vs. Laredo Martin at Falfurrias, 7 p.m.

Edcouch-Elsa vs. Laredo Nixon at Grulla, 7 p.m.

Class 3A Bi-district

Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. C.C. London at Riviera Kaufer, 7 p.m.

Santa Rosa vs. Bishop at Texas A&M-Kingsville, 8 p.m.

TBA

La Feria vs. Sinton, TBA

Zapata vs .West Oso, TBA

RGVSPORTS.COM

Weslaco High always comes to a game prepared.Friday was no different, as the Panthers beat Laredo United South, 62-57, in the Class 6A area round game. In the 24 hours prior to the game, Weslaco experienced several obstacles that threatened to derail its preparation.

At Thursday night’s practice, senior guard Emily Saenz, who averaged 11.8 points per game during the regular season, hurt her ankle.

“Emily went down with an injury, which forced us to put her on crutches,” Weslaco coach Griselda Fino said. “Of course the girls were rattled, because we were going into a game without her. We had been working on a game plan all week, that obviously included her. She goes down in the last 15 to 20 minutes of practice.”

Things didn’t get any better Friday morning. The Panthers boarded the bus at Weslaco around 9:30 a.m. The bus broke down, turning a four hour trip into an eight and a half hour trip.

“We get to the gym in San Antonio, and we had already missed our shootaround,” Fino said. “So we literally ran into the locker room, and changed into our uniforms. We barely had 14 minutes to warm up before the game.”

Even in the game, it was a struggle. Saenz ended up being cleared to start the game, but was on a heavy minutes restriction. The team trailed by 11 points at the half. Later in the game, senior forward Gabriella Garza fouled out. Brianna Peña picked up four fouls and had to fight the rest of the game to avoid the fifth.

“It was just one of those things where, we just had to fight through all of that adversity in the first half,” Fino said. “We did the best we could to hang on. I think once we settled down, and we were able to figure out that we were ok, in the second half we played a lot better.”

Fighting through the injury, Saenz finished with 14 points. Peña added 15.

Sophomore guard Jada Lopez and Freshman guard Kirsten Padilla played more minutes than usual to fight the foul and injury trouble.

“Jada Lopez had a huge night for us defensively,” Fino said. “That transferred to a good offensive showing for us, especially in the second half.”

Lopez finished with six points off the bench. Padilla added three, although they were a big three.

“Kirsten Padiila, our freshman, stepped up huge in Emily’s absence,” Fino said. “She just did a lot of good things. She was big time at the foul line there at the end, which kind of sealed the deal for us. She did a good job of taking care of the ball, and she got a few defensive stops.”

Senior guard Andrea Villegas scored 12 points for Weslaco, including eight in the third quarter. That’s when Weslaco bounced back from a halftime deficit to regain the lead.

Weslaco will now face Laredo United in the regional quarterfinals with the date and location to be determined.

CLASS 4A

CRYSTAL CITY 52, HIDALGO 50: At Zapata, it took double overtime to decide the outcome, but in the end Hidalgo was eliminated from the playoffs. Hidalgo finishes the season 27-11.

VALLEY-SOFTBALL SCHEDULE

Monday, Feb. 13

Non-district

Harlingen High 5, Edinburg High 4

Brownsville Pace 6, PSJA Southwest 4

Lyford 16, Hidalgo 9

McAllen High 7, Port Isabel 1

La Feria at Donna North, not reported

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Non-district

McAllen Memorial at Weslaco High, 7 p.m.

McAllen Rowe at Brownsville Veterans, 7 p.m.

PSJA North at Mission High, 7 p.m.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Grulla, 7 p.m.

Zapata at La Joya, 7 p.m.

Edinburg Vela at Mercedes, 7 p.m.

Brownsville Hanna at PSJA Memorial, 6 p.m.

PSJA High at Weslaco East, 6 p.m.

Mission Veterans at Laredo Martin, 7 p.m.

Sharyland Pioneer at Laredo Cigarroa, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Mission Veterans, 7 p.m.

Edcouch-Elsa at Los Fresnos, 7 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Donna High, 7 p.m.

Feb. 16-18

Mission Fastpitch Tournament

Donna Tournament

VALLEY-BOYS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Monday, Feb. 13

District 31-5A

Laredo Martin 79, Rio Grande City 41

Laredo Nixon 93, Laredo Cigarroa 54

District 32-4A

Hidalgo 83, Progreso 33

La Feria 47, Zapata 37

Port Isabel 60, Raymondville 54

Grulla 61, Rio Hondo 53

Tuesday, Feb. 14

District 30-6A

McAllen High at Mission High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Rowe at McAllen Memorial, 7:30 p.m.

La Joya Palmview at La Joya High, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Edinburg Vela at Edinburg High, 7:30 p.m.

PSJA North at PSJA High, 7:30 p.m.

Edinburg Edonomedes at PSJA Memorial, 7:30 p.m.

PSJA Southwest at Edinburg North, 7:30 p.m.

District 32-6A

Weslaco East at San Benito, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-5A

Sharyland High at Valley View, 7 p.m.

Rio Grande City at Laredo Martin, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Brownsville Lopez at Donna North, 7:30 p.m.

Edcouch-Elsa at Donna High, 7:30 p.m.

Mercedes at Brownsville Veterans, 7:30 p.m.

VALLEY-BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Monday’s Game

District 32-4A

HIDALGO 83, PROGRESO 33

Progreso 3 9 12 9 — 33

Hidalgo 25 25 19 14 — 83

PROGRESO (33): Alan Muñoz 2, Jose Zuniga 1, Marc Martinez 2, Mike Gallardo 5, Arturo Alleman 2, Mario Hinojosa 1, Ramiro Puentes 20.

HIDALGO (83): Andy Flores 12, Aaron Anaya 5, Juan Barron 4, David Molina 9, Raymond Mancha 5, Frankie Sanchez 10, Andrew Sosa 10, Raul Ortiz 3, Saul Arjona 7, Jesse Alaniz 9, Ricky Arjona 3, Marco Sanchez 6.

RECORDS: Hidalgo 20-12, 13-2.

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

Weslaco overcame an early start Monday to beat a game PSJA North squad 36-21 in the Class 6A Bi-District round.

“Well you know it is exciting,” Weslaco coach Griselda Fino said. “That feeling never gets old. We knew we were going to have our hands full with that PSJA North team, even with them being as young as they are. Of course it was exciting.”

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, Weslaco High led 13-12.

“In the first half we had a really slow start,” Fino said. “We went like 5-for-26 from the field. So, offensively we just weren’t in rhythm in the first half.”

Fino had a plan in place and it worked to perfection in the second half. The panthers started feeding senior forward Gabriella Garza. She started to hit a couple shots and that got the team rolling.

“(Garza) opened up the middle for us because she kept attacking the middle,” Fino said. “She opened up a lot of other things. Once we started going to her and she started going, they started clamping down on her. That opened up the drives for our guards. After that Bre (Peña) and Emily (Saenz) picked up the slack. It was just a team effort.”

Weslaco (29-8) advances to the area round for the sixth consecutive year. PSJA North (26-10) returns all but two players and is poised to take a big step forward next year.

LAREDO UNITED SOUTH 91, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 63: at Alice, La Joya Palmview is bounced from the playoffs in the bi-district round for the second year in a row. Palmview finishes the year 20-16.

SOUTH SAN ANTONIO 87, McALLEN MEMORIAL 65: at San Antonio, South San Antonio came in having won 4 of its last 5. Memorial (23-11) couldn’t keep up with the Bobcats’ explosive offense.

LAREDO ALEXANDER 84, McALLEN ROWE 32: at Alice, after winning their way onto the playoffs on Friday, the Warriors (11-24) were bounced in the opening round.

CLASS 4A BI-DISTRICT

WEST OSO 66, GRULLA 37: at Falfurrias, Grulla’s (20-16) first ever trip to the playoffs ends in the bi-district round.

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

ALAMO — Coming into this season, PSJA Memorial senior Alex Soto hadn’t won a district game since her freshman year. Even during her freshman year, the team finished at the bottom of the standings.

The program has never been to the playoffs.

Coach Marisa Gutierrez came on board in August 2015. Right away, the feeling around the team started to change.

Last year, the Wolverines showed growth and seemed ready to break out. But the road to success was a bumpy one.

Junior point guard Monique De Leon has been homeless at different points in her life. Her father is incarcerated. But De Leon is a fighter.

“Growing up, my sport was not basketball,” De Leon said. “I didn’t even like basketball. My sport was boxing. I love to fight. That’s just me. I love fighting.”

But the last two years, she has had a different kind of fight. She had to fight to clean up her act and keep her place on Gutierrez’s team.

“I’m a troubled kid,” De Leon said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m a troubled kid. I would always do wrong.”

But, with the help of her teammates and Gutierrez, De Leon changed her ways. Her focus shifted to school and basketball. Now, she is a shining example of how athletics can help a person find happiness.

“I feel like, for my age, I’ve been through a lot of things and I’ve seen a lot of things,” De Leon said. “So, I know how to control it, on the court. All my anger, everything that happens, it comes out on the court. I feel like that’s where I’m at my happiest.”

Just as that hurdle was being overcome, the team suffered a serious blow.

Over the summer, junior Kayla Aguiano was diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. She is close to most of the players on the team, and they immediately supported her and helped her any way they could.

She was an important piece to the team not only in the locker room, but on the court, as well.

“The girls would call her our tanque, like tank,” Gutierrez said. “She was always driving hard to the basket, and just solid. She was probably the strongest person on our team, not just physically, but mentally as well. That was kind of hard to lose. We had to change it around a bit.”

The team rallied around Kayla. They dedicated this season to her and pray for her before every game.

“I love to see that,” Aguiano said. “It touches my heart, and it makes me emotional.”

Aguiano says she’s only missed about three games this year. She most enjoyed the first district game.

The Wolverines drew PSJA North to open their district schedule, winning 38-34.

“That was really exciting because that was the team that we always said we have to beat them,” Aguiano said. “And when we did, we all cried.”

The wins didn’t stop there. Memorial swept that season series, as well as the series with Edinburg North and Edinburg Economedes. They finished the season 22-14, 10-4 in District 31-6A.

Aguiano said it was tough to have to watch from the sidelines rather than being the one playing.

“It was hard because, at the end of sophomore year, I had been saying, ‘Junior year was going to be our year,’” Aguiano said. “And, well, it was. So it’s really hard, because I’m really close to them. But seeing them make the playoffs makes me super happy.”

And the team has been doing it for Aguiano every step of the way.

“We had to remember our purpose, and what we go out there for,” De Leon said. “We don’t just go out there to play, we go out there, and we play for Kayla. Because she can’t do it, we are going to do it for her. We just can’t take any second of the game for granted.”

Good news came for Aguinao on Monday. Her doctors cleared her to return to full basketball workouts, a big step in her journey toward full health. Aguiano is determined to rejoin her team and take her spot on the court next season.

For Soto, this season is the culmination of a career filled with hard work and disappointment. She was on the bad end of a lot of losses throughout her career, but she never quit. She never stopped loving the game. She remembers her first hoop, a small plastic one. She credits her father for pushing her to keep playing.

“He just tells me to keep shooting,” Soto said. “‘Even Stephen Curry has an 0-13 game,’ he tells me. He’s always been there. He’s always been there to push me and to keep me going.”

The Wolverines have a chance to reach yet another milestone tonight. They travel to Harlingen High at 7 for the chance to get PSJA Memorial’s first ever playoff win.

“It would be very exciting,” De Leon said. “We have worked hard day in and day out. Everything we have been working on is for the playoffs.”

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