KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — The Harlingen High Lady Cardinals had one goal in mind Friday, and that was to start district play strong and to win their first district game.
Well, Harlingen High did just that in a 59-32 win over San Benito on Friday afternoon in San Benito. The win was fueled by the Lady Cardinals’ press defense and strong play from the bench.
Senior Andrea Cortez came off the bench and scored a team-high 10 points. Bianca Rodriguez added six points as Harlingen High won its fifth straight and improved to 20-5.
“Our bench got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Harlingen High coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “But if you look at the second half, they came in strong. They are all fast and compete really hard, and what I like about them is, they bring this different type of energy and the girls feed off of it and the fans do as well.”
The depth on the Lady Cardinals’ bench gives them an added tool with the district season starting. While Harlingen High got off to a slow start on offense and was only leading 11-4 at the end of the first quarter, the offense warmed up and it was the team’s defense that kept the Lady ’Hounds in check by yielding eight points in the second quarter and seven in the third quarter.
Taegan Dickey, Ariel Leal and Avery Hinojosa each scored six points in the win. The big quarters came during the second half for the Lady Cards, whose bench extended their lead to 33-17 late in the third period.
“The girls stepped up and started competing harder in the second half when it came down to it on defense,” Moncivaiz said. “Their energy also was big, and we were able to execute on offense. In the first half, the ball just wasn’t rolling our way.”
Along with the fiery bench play and stout solid five comes sophomore sharpshooter Alexus Coto. The point guard provides the starting five with a spark and a hot hand from 3-point land.
“Right now I’m feeling good,” Coto said. “We had that break and were able to get our legs back under us against Weslaco, and we were able to put a win together today against San Benito. It is important for us to get our first district win. I just come out here and try and help my team in any way possible.”
Harlingen High next travels to face Brownsville Hanna.
San Benito, meanwhile, fell to 11-15 on the year and will now shift its focus to Harlingen South.
In the loss, Tyesha Anaya netted a game-high 14 points. Haley Lopez scored eight, and Natalie Rosalez and Elvira Coronado scored four points apiece.