By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
BROWNSVILLE — Mariana Espinosa and Briana Brackhahn hit two huge 3-pointers down the stretch for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers to give them a good 47-38 win against the Harlingen South Lady Hawks on Tuesday night.
The Lady Hawks got off to a great start during the first quarter. Senior Alexes Rocha hit a nice 3-pointer, and seniors Isabella Marez and Jasmine Ortiz chipped in to give the Lady Hawks a 13-8 advantage going into the second quarter.
Another 3 by Rocha and a bucket from senior Katy Machen gave the Lady Hawks an 18-10 lead.
Catie Esquivel was great down low and helped keep the Lady Chargers in the game early with some big points. Esquivel, Espinosa, Brackhahn and Jordyn Rivera cut the lead to 20-19 late in the second quarter.
A jumper and a couple of free throws by Rocha gave the Lady Hawks a 24-19 lead at halftime. The Lady Hawks were disciplined and played great halfcourt basketball, and moved the ball around really well.
“Harlingen South is a good team, they are very disciplined offensively,” Brownsville Veterans coach Arnold Torres Jr. said. “They did a great job executing in the first, and our girls struggled to adjust to their screens and it put is in a hole.”
The Lady Chargers came back again during the second half and took their first lead in the game when Esquivel was fouled while converting a basket down low. She made the free throw to give the Lady Chargers a 30-28 lead.
Esquivel was the difference down low during the third quarter. She scored nine of her team’s 18 points in the quarter. A huge block by Esquivel was recycled in transition well by Alexa Torres, who found Annie Cisneros for an easy layup. Torres hit a 3 from the top of the key to give the Lady Chargers the 35-28 lead.
The Lady Hawks battled back again during the fourth quarter, and senior Sarahi Rodriguez hit a 3 to tie the game at 37.
A jumper from Rivera gave back the lead to the Lady Chargers. Brackhahn hit her 3 from the elbow with only a couple of minutes left to extend the lead to 4. Torres then found Espinosa on the wing after pushing the tempo.
Espinosa nailed the 3 and, with the clock winding down, Esquivel put the game out of reach with another rebound and finish to give the Lady Chargers a win against a senior-heavy Class 6A squad.
“We made some adjustments defensively that I think helped us at the beginning of the third quarter,” Torres said. “We made a couple of shots that gave us some energy.
“One of the things that I had emphasized at the half was that Harlingen South wanted it more. They were going after loose balls and executing better. I challenged them to get the rebounds, and I think that push showed in the third quarter and made the difference tonight,” Torres said.