KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN— The Harlingen High Lady Cardinals are back on top of the District 32-6A mountain again after a 61-28 win over rival Harlingen South on Friday night in Harlingen.
The Lady Cards bring back the trophy for the first time since the 2015-16 season and a third time under coach Ashley Moncivaiz. Harlingen High is 9-0 in 32-6A with one district game remaining.
“We came into this year on a mission,” Moncivaiz said. “We hadn’t won a district title in a few years. These kids all worked really hard, and this is one of the things we wanted to do. We wanted to make a statement, and we did that.”
Leading 34-20, junior Alyssa Salas drilled a 3 at the buzzer to give Harlingen High a 37-20 lead at the end of the third quarter, helping to spark a 9-0 run into the fourth quarter that opened the floodgates.
“We wanted to be aggressive from the tipoff and we were not going to back down or show mercy, and that play gave us a jolt going into the fourth quarter,” Moncivaiz said.
Senior Taegan Dickey rose to the occasion with a game-high 20 points. She flew up and down the court all night long.
“Knowing that all the hard work myself and the team has put in is paying off, it is amazing,” Dickey said.
This is a first district title for Dickey. As a freshman, she saw her older sister Addison win a district title with the 2015-16 team.
“She surprised me today when she got here,” Dickey said. “It means so much to our family that we both have won a district title. I was able to see her do it, and for both of us to do it our senior year is something special.”
Along with the stifling defense that forced South into turnovers was the play of Bianca Rodriguez.
The senior came out swinging and hit back-to-back 3s during the opening period as part of a 14-2 run during the opening quarter. Rodriguez finished with 12 points.
Harlingen South will look to regroup when it plays host to Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday. South is now 7-2 in district play and is still in a position for the playoffs.
Karla Reyes led the offense with nine points, and Allyah Guevara finished with five in the loss.