BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — PSJA North was waiting for a game like this one, for a variety of reasons.
Though the Lady Raiders entered Tuesday’s contest having won seven of their last eight games, they did so in an inconsistent fashion — their high-scoring offense was prone to sputter and the team lacked cohesion due to injury.
No such ills were apparent against Weslaco East. Playing their most focused and unified game in weeks, PSJA North’s hot-handed shooting propelled them to a 68-44 win. Of the six Lady Raiders to see the court, five hit at least 50 percent of their attempts from the floor.
Belle Palacios scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Though North’s offensive attack hummed like a well-tuned instrument, their defense stifled East for much of the night. The Lady Raiders gathered 12 steals with guard Sarah Serrano totalling a team high five.
“We played a complete game,” North coach Randy Bocanegra said. “… We made some adjustments defensively and started to hit some shots. I think this game woke us up.”
That awakening included guard Arianna Medrano, who scored 13 points and made a trio of 3-pointers. Medrano leads the team in made shots from downtown (67) but entered a period of passive play during the New Year — oftentimes giving up open looks.
Against East, however, Medrano helped lead her team early. Thanks to eight first-quarter points from the sharp-shooting senior, North took a 17-12 lead heading into the second quarter. So aggressive was Medrano, she collided with Palacios during a loose ball situation, giving her teammate a bloody nose.
“I told Arianna at the beginning of the game, ‘You need to make sure you get yours,’” Bocanegra said. “Get out there, start hitting your shots and see how you feel.”
Weslaco East (16-13, 3-1) entered with a five game winning streak, but looked to North as a barometer to measure their standing in a competitive District 31-6A. The Lady Wildcats played North well during the first half. Guards Kimberly Charles and Gissel Reyes chipped in six points each during the first half, and their team notched eight first-half steals — one more than the Lady Raiders (23-2, 4-1).
Then, Angela Ochoa happened.
During the third quarter, leading 29-23 with starting guard Sarah Serrano on the bench with four first half fouls, the junior backup guard put on a shooting clinic. Ochoa connected on all four of her shots from beyond the arc, helping North outscore East 24-5 during the third to put the game away.
Ochoa’s dead-eye shooting marked a turning point for the game as well as the junior guard, who until Tuesday had gone stretches without playing time and lacked confidence during rare instances she stepped on the court.
“It was amazing for me to be making those shots,” Ochoa said. “I didn’t shoot anything before the game or during warmups, it was just an awesome feeling to play like that.”
While everything went Ochoa’s way, East never recovered. The Lady Wildcats were plagued by turnovers — committing more than 20 on the evening — and missed defensive assignments which often led to open lanes for cutting Lady Raider guards.
“It all got away from us,” East coast William Kromer said. “I think we just shut down from that point. Our defense fell apart. We had to start gambling and do stuff we don’t normally do. We were trying to throw different stuff at them, and it just didn’t work.”