BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — Kevin Kromer wanted a third quarter like this one.
“There’s been one quarter that’s been our Achilles Heel so far this season,” the Donna High girls basketball coach said. “And it’s probably been the third quarter. We play pretty hard the first half, and I guess (the girls) need to get their second wind. But during that stretch, they let the opposing team back in (the game).”
Instead of experiencing the third-quarter blues during Tuesday’s game against the Mercedes Lady Tigers, Donna flourished, outscoring their District 32-5A opponent by a score of 18-6 en route to a 39-34 comeback win.
“It’s just a mental thing,” Kromer said. “They fought hard and I’m proud of them.”
The Bravettes’ victory creates a first-place tie between the two teams at the top of the district standings, as each program sports a 9-1 record.
Donna trailed Mercedes 20-12 at the half. Sophomores Laurynn Williams and Aileen Garza, who Kromer calls the team’s “future,” did not score from the field during that time. The Bravettes, who covet a penetrate-and-kick offense, were routinely flustered by the Lady Tigers’ signature press defense.
On the rare occasion Donna was able to run an offensive set, they had no match for the sweltering inside presence of Merceders’ senior center Summer Vento, who tallied five blocks in the first two quarters.
Despite the deficit and the sloppy nature of the game, the Bravettes (18-10, 9-1) were confident going into the break.
“I told the girls, ‘We’re going to win this game,” Donna senior guard Marina Martinez said.
And so it was the Bravettes fought fire with fire in the second half, matching Mercedes’ tenacious full-court defense with their own press that led to several Lady Tigers turnovers and easy buckets for Donna.
“Usually a team that presses doesn’t like to be pressed back,” Kromer said.
Williams came to life in the quarter as well, scoring 5 of her team-high 11 points.
“(Coach) was getting on to us at halftime,” Williams said. “He said we weren’t moving our feet and running our plays. He told us to keep pushing and keep running the plays and keep pushing to the basket.”
Although Donna controlled the duration of the third quarter, the Bravettes only carried a slim four-point lead into the final eight minutes, 30-26. The Tigers, whose oppressive inside game vanished, returned in the form of a pair of buckets courtesy of Vento, while point guard Alyssa Marquez drained a 3-pointer from the right elbow.
Mercedes (19-9, 9-1) led 34-32 with 55 seconds remaining before a Laurynn Williams steal led to an and-1 to give Donna the lead for good.
“I told the girls before the game, ‘We’re in second (in district), we have nothing to lose,’” Kromer said. “‘The pressure is on (Mercedes). Let’s get out and go.’”