By CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star
HARLINGEN — Harlingen South and Los Fresnos played each other tight and split two contests prior to facing off during the second round of District 32-6A play Tuesday night.
After a low-scoring and defense-dominated first half, it looked like the teams were heading for another single-digit, intense finish. But after her team fell behind early, senior Ari Gallardo took over the contest with a huge game to lead her team to a 53-33 victory.
“Ari needed to have a big game, she’s been up and down all season, and she’s a great kid who puts in a lot of work,” Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez said. “She’s our senior leader and I have high expectations for her, and she came out and did her job tonight.”
The first half was a showcase of quick hands and solid defense from both teams. A pair of 3-pointers from Laura Ramirez and Amber Lopez helped the Lady Hawks jump out to a quick lead, but Los Fresnos’ size under the basket helped it jump ahead and stay there.
The Lady Falcons were far better rebounding and earned many second-chance shots, but they struggled to find the bottom of the bucket and missed some good looks.
South had the same issue and saw a lot of good outside shots bounce off the rim. But when the Lady Hawks tried to feed the ball inside, Jasmin Garcia and Sarahi Jones either knocked down passes or played good post defense to keep South off the scoreboard.
“We had a tough time putting the ball in the hole tonight,” Lady Hawks coach Kelly Garrett said. “They’re bigger than us, longer than us and we just couldn’t stop that. They played a great game and were better than us tonight.”
Despite a 22-15 lead at halftime, Los Fresnos knew its offensive performance needed to match its defense. Gallardo and Maritza Ortega took that challenge on themselves and sparked an 18-point third quarter that put the Lady Falcons firmly in control.
South turned up the intensity during the second half and had some good stretches, but the offensive production never came and the defense faltered as Los Fresnos started to heat up.
Gallardo finished the night with 21 points and went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line to put the game away.
“We just had to work as a team, move the ball more and get some open shots,” Gallardo said. “It’s all mentality. You have to keep working hard no matter what the score is and just push through.”