By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star
It was a little like déjà vu watching the Harlingen Lady Cardinals as they defeated Weslaco East 72-31 shortly after the boys’ lopsided win.
Harlingen was fantastic defensively, first playing in a fullcourt, trapping press and then transitioning to man coverage as Weslaco East made its own adjustments. The Lady Cardinals plugged up the paint and made it very difficult for the Lady Wild-cats to get to the basket.
“The way we were pressuring the ball and putting defensive pressure on them, it helped us with the flow of the game,” Harlingen head coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “We started off kind of slow but we picked up the intensity, which is what we’ve been working on.”
Neither team started the game particularly well, but midway through the opening quarter the Lady Cardinals found their momentum.
Junior guards Julie Ann Garza and Andrea Cortez were especially important in the turnaround. Garza’s sure hands forced several Weslaco East turnovers and their aggressive style of play was a bit too much for the inexperienced Lady Wildcats to handle.
“We’re a young team and we make young mistakes,” Weslaco East head coach Chris Kromer said. “When you play a really good team and you make a bad pass they make you pay. I think we were nervous at first and we missed a few easy shots.”
Harlingen’s Alyssa Cervantes, though, didn’t miss. The junior made four three-pointers in the first half and six total, making a splash similar to that of her No. 12 counterpart on the boys team.
Katelyn Rodriguez and Janette Morales led the scoring charge for the Lady Wildcats with 10 and eight points, respectively. Rodriguez was hurt at the end of the first quarter while battling for possession, but after being diagnosed with a contusion, Rodriguez told her coach she wanted back in after halftime. She went on to score eight points in the second half.
“She’s a warrior and a great leader,” Kromer said of Rodriguez. “When I saw her get hurt and I ran out there… I won’t lie to you, I was praying. She came out and said ‘I’m okay, I can play’ and she works too hard in practice for me to put her on the bench.”
The Lady Wildcats certainly improved from the first to second half, but their effort wasn’t enough as Harlingen never let up. The Lady Cardinals improved to 19-8, 3-1 with the victory.