By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen High basketball teams had a lot of reasons to celebrate after sweeping their doubleheader against District 32-6A foe Los Fresnos on Friday at home.
The Lady Cardinals picked up a 74-22 win over the Lady Falcons, and the victory brought with it two major milestones. Harlingen High celebrated the clinching of its third straight district championship and the 200th career win for coach Ashley Moncivaiz in a postgame ceremony filled with loud cheers.
“It feels great because we can have the community be a part of it … to celebrate when we accomplish two things in one,” Moncivaiz said. “It’s a great feeling because it’s something that I always dreamt about, coming back and being a head coach for my alma mater and to keep representing the school and continue what the program did for me. I just wanted to make sure I could continue the legacy.”
Harlingen High overwhelmed Los Fresnos from the jump, opening up a 21-0 lead after one quarter. The Lady Cardinals were relentless on defense, even with a large lead. The depth of their bench was once again on display as Moncivaiz regularly rotated role players into the mix.
Avery Hinojosa and Callie Cervantes led the Lady Cardinals with 20 and 14 points, respectively, and by contributing to the stifling defensive attack. Danielle Rodriguez (12 points), Emery Scoggins and Athena Linnartz were top producers off the bench and helped feed the energy of the crowd. Hinojosa said sealing the district title and adding to Moncivaiz’s legacy by topping the Lady Falcons in a lopsided contest felt amazing.
“They thought they were going to come back and beat us, but we came back stronger. We knew it was going to be a physical game, and we just fought,” Hinojosa said. “We really put hard work into this. We battled strong and won the district, and we’re ready for playoffs. (Moncivaiz) pushes us hard, but she wants the best for us. We love her so much, and we appreciate everything she’s done for us. She expects a lot from me, and I’ll do whatever it takes for her.”
Moncivaiz has accumulated a lot of big wins and district titles during her seven years at the helm, but Friday’s win and the 2020-21 district title means a little more to the Lady Cardinals’ leader.
“This one’s a sweet one. You can see the growth, the maturity, and the way they’re playing, they’re just playing awesome and playing as a team,” Moncivaiz said. “We want to start peaking by the time we get to the playoffs, and we’re getting there. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting there.”
The boys contest was much more competitive, and the Harlingen High Cardinals escaped with a signature 62-60 win over the powerhouse Los Fresnos Falcons.
The teams swapped buckets for the first part of the opening quarter, and then Los Fresnos created some cushion behind the efforts of Gerry Martinez to take a 16-9 lead. Harlingen High’s defense kept the Falcons off the board for the final 2:45 of the first quarter, and the Cardinals went into the second quarter trailing 16-13.
Mike Castillo (23 points), John Salinas (12) and Ryan Sanchez sparked a big second quarter that sent the Cardinals to the locker room with a 31-29 halftime lead and a lot of momentum on their side. Cardinals coach Clayton Cretors told his team to “stay the course” as the second half approached, and Harlingen High’s endless effort carried the team to a win.
“I told them to stick to the plan because what we were doing was effective. I just wanted to instill some confidence in them,” Cretors said. “They bought in, and they had the energy at halftime. They were ready to come back out and keep competing.”
The Cardinals expanded their lead to 43-35 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Castillo and Eric Quilantan (10 points). Harlingen High cleaned up on the offensive and defensive boards to keep the ball out of the hands of Los Fresnos’ shooters, holding the Falcons to just 10 points during the third quarter to take a 47-39 advantage into the fourth.
Alex Moreno (14 points), Keane Ogoa (six) and Martinez (18) spearheaded a valiant comeback effort from Los Fresnos late in the final quarter, but the Cardinals were determined to hold on. Harlingen High opened up a 12-point lead midway through the fourth, but the defense of Darius Garcia and the Falcons cut deficit to 55-50.
The teams once again swapped scores to hold the gap at five for a stretch. Harlingen High was slightly better at the free-throw line than in earlier games to maintain just enough of an advantage to stave off a late scoring run from Los Fresnos. Martinez stole an inbounds pass under the Falcons’ basket and floated it in to cut the lead to two, but time expired as the shot fell, and the Cardinals faithful celebrated yet again.
“It feels really good. It means a lot to beat those guys, we haven’t beat them in many years, so it’s a tremendous accomplishment by my boys and I’m extremely proud of them,” Cretors said. “Somewhat pleased with (the free throws). I wish we would’ve hit a couple of the front end of the 1-and-1s, but we were able to hit enough to seal the deal. It’s something we work on consistently, and we’re going to continue to do so.”