By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Hanna struggled offensively early, and couldn’t catch up to Harlingen High.
The Lady Golden Eagles struggled in the first half and couldn’t overcome the early deficit as they fell to the Lady Cardinals 57-47 in a District 32-6A girls basketball game on Tuesday at Hanna.
“They started the game on an 8-0 run and that was the difference in the game,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “After that we were playing catchup. The girls responded in the third quarter … we played well in spurts, but against a team like Harlingen, you have to play 32 minutes of solid basketball.”
Mia Paz led Hanna (14-13 overall, 1-5 in district) with 22 points, including 20 after halftime, eight rebounds and a pair of steals, to get her team within a bucket in the third quarter, but the Lady Eagles couldn’t quell the Harlingen High runs in the second half as the Lady Cardinals (18-10, 5-1) held off the Hanna rally.
“Mia didn’t start the game well, she had some good looks, but some of the shots just didn’t go in,” Gonzalez said. “The second half we adjusted, she was more calm and collective and had a great second half.”
Hanna found itself down quickly after Harlingen High used a full court press and used its defense to surge to an 8-0 lead.
The Lady Eagles battled back and a 3 by Reischeel Ocampo got Hanna within three points. But the Lady Cardinals’ Nadia Flores had seven points in the opening quarter and helped Harlingen High finish the quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 15-7.
The Lady Eagles fought back, but Harlingen High continued its defensive pressure to score in transition. A putback by Emeline Ellis got Hanna within 19-11, but the Lady Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to push the edge back to double digits.
Hanna finished the half on a 5-0 surge, including a 3-pointer by Jacky De La Rosa, but the Lady Eagles trailed 25-16 at the break.
Paz started the third quarter with three straight 3s and a bucket by Ocampo got Hanna within two points of the lead, but Julie Ann Garza hit a jumper and then two buckets off steals to start 8-0 run to push the advantage back to 10 points before Hanna cut the lead to eight by the end of the third.
“We went to man-to-man defense,” Harlingen High coach Ashley Moncivaiz said after Hanna closed the gap in the third quarter. “We felt we had to put the pressure on, so that’s what we did, forced some turnovers off that and went and scored, so that helped us.”
Harlingen High began the final quarter with a 6-0 surge and held off Hanna down the stretch in the district victory.
Garza led the Lady Cardinals with 16 points, five rebounds and five steals, Flores finished with 15 points and three boards, and Taegan Dickey and Andrea Cortez combined for 10 points, 15 rebounds and six steals for Harlingen High.
De La Rosa had 10 points, four rebounds and three steals and Ocampo added seven points, two rebounds and two steals, and Sofia Salinas grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Eagles.
After opening district with a loss to crosstown rival Harlingen South, the Lady Cardinals have won five straight in District 32-6A.
“We’re focused on one game at a time, we’re trying to make sure we’re working as a team,” Moncivaiz said. “We are a young group, so we’re working on maturing, so we’ve had some ups and downs. But we’re in the hunt (for a district title) so we’ll take it one game at a time.”
Gonzalez was proud of the way his team competed against the defending district champions.
“Harlingen beat us in those (offensive) lapses and that 8-0 run (to start the game) was big,” he said. “We had to adjust to that (defensive) pressure. We just have to learn from this, watch film and regroup.
“The ball hasn’t bounced our way this season, but I think we’ll turn the corner and be more competitive.”
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.