By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial continues to improve on defense and it showed against Mercedes.
Led by Jordan Rudd’s game-high 16 points and seven steals, the Lady Chargers totaled 23 steals and turned many into points to upend the Lady Tigers 51-37 in a District 32-5A game Friday at Brownsville Veterans.
“We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and get a good start and that’s exactly what we did,” Rudd said. “My teammates were helping me out. Our team was playing awesome together with great passes … I didn’t even notice that I had 10 points in the first half, it was a good flow for all of us.”
Brownsville Veterans (2-0 in District 32-5A) new to the district this year after realignment handed Mercedes (1-1) its first district loss since the second half of district in 2015 after the Lady Tigers were unbeaten in district (14-0) last season.
Rudd scored 10 points in the first half, including eight in the opening quarter, as the Lady Chargers were relentless on defense. Brownsville Veterans started the game on a 6-0 run and pushed the lead to 10-2 after back-to-back buckets by Hannah Meyers. The Lady Chargers used defensive pressure to continue their advantage to 16-2 before Keysha Saldivar hit a 3 for Mercedes to end the run, but Brownsville Veterans led 18-5 after the first.
“We know they are the three-time defending district champions,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “They weren’t going to come in here and roll over. Defensively, we did our job. We missed a lot of layups, but I was happy how we played defense.”
The Lady Tigers started the second quarter on a 5-0 run, but the Lady Chargers continued their defensive pressure with a 2-3 zone and pushed the lead back to 10 with a three-point play by Meyers. A little later Rudd had back-to-back steals, the first with an assist to Dani Diaz on a basket and the latter took it herself and finished with a layup to give Brownsville Veterans a 27-13 edge.
Mercedes struggled offensively and Brownsville Veterans continued to share the ball on the offensive end and took a 36-18 lead at the break.
“We came out a little sluggish, didn’t look quite ready to go and made some poor decisions,” Mercedes coach Monica Meza said. “We got in a little bit of a hole. It was a little too late to get out of it when you give up 18 points in the first and second quarters.”
After halftime, the Lady Chargers continued on the defensive and allowed just four points in the third quarter as Rudd scored four points for Brownsville Veterans to give her team a 44-22 edge after three. The Lady Chargers played their starters for a few minutes in the fourth quarter and maintained a 20-point advantage before emptying the bench in the victory.
Meyers finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals and Lizzy Garza added eight points and three rebounds for Brownsville Veterans.
Mika Vento led Mercedes with 12 points and nine rebounds, Jessica Zapata had seven points and four rebounds and Saldivar added six points with a pair of 3s in the first half.
Meza was disappointed with the loss, but knew the district would be tougher with the addition of Brownsville Veterans.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we welcomed it,” Meza said. “The good news is we get to see them again and on our home floor and Mercedes is a tough place to play. When we meet up again, we’ll be a little better prepared.”
After Rudd made a statement about leadership last week at the Wendy’s High School Heisman national finalists ceremony, Paz said he told his senior that if she was going to say it, she should also show it. And Rudd certainly has.
“She’s backed it up,” he said. “She was leading us by distribution. I didn’t think she had that many points (at halftime), but I felt we were up because how she was leading on the floor. With the intensity of pushing the ball and keeping the other team on their heels to open the game up for everyone else.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.