By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
St. Joseph Academy struggled to find its offensive touch against San Antonio Antonian.
The Lady Bloodhounds didn’t get going on offense because of missed shots and too many turnovers, and the Lady Apaches took advantage during their 63-34 victory in TAPPS district action Saturday at St. Joseph.
Diana Garcia led St. Joseph with 14 points, including four 3s in the second half, but the Lady Bloodhounds’ off-shooting day was underlined with a scoreless second quarter in which a seven-point deficit grew to 22 by halftime.
“We knew what was coming, we knew Antonian was going to be aggressive,” St. Joseph coach Cynthia Martinez said. “I thought we handled it better than I thought we would handle it. There were a couple moments of frustration, but we just can’t completely handle that type of pressure.”
St. Joseph went back and forth with Antonian to start the game, but the Lady Apaches went on a 5-0 run with a 3 from Brittany Parker and bucket by Elena Tamez to take a 9-4 lead. Garcia hit a pair of free throws to stop the run, but Bailey Boyle answered with a 3 to start a 7-0 run. St. Joseph’s Ceci de la Garza hit a 3 to pull it back to single digits, but Antonian led 16-9 after the first quarter.
During the second quarter, nothing fell for St. Joseph. Antonian’s defense was also making those attempts tough at every stretch. The Lady Apaches forced the Lady Bloodhounds into several turnovers and turned them into points in transition. Antonian held St. Joseph without a point and took a 31-9 lead at the break.
“We had some easy baskets that we just missed,” Martinez said. “When you know the pressure is coming, your shot is different.”
That pressure is always a key for Antonian.
“That’s our staple, that’s what we hang our hat on,” Antonian coach Patrick Harvey said. “You’re going to make or miss all night, but consistently you have to be playing good defense.”
The Lady Apaches continued their offensive output to start the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run before St. Joseph called a timeout to regroup. Finally at the 3:26 mark, Garcia hit a 3 to end the scoreless streak but the Lady Bloodhounds trailed 41-12.
During the fourth quarter, St. Joseph found its offensive groove, Garcia and de la Garza hit consecutive 3s, but Antonian went on an 8-0 run to push the lead to 58-26. Valeria Tapia had a bucket and found Garcia for a pair of 3s down the stretch, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first-half deficit.
Tapia and de la Garza finished with six points apiece, and Tapia added six rebounds and three assists for the Lady Bloodhounds.
The Lady Apaches’ defense was overwhelming at times for St. Joseph, which struggled against their trapping zone scheme.
“We get a lot of our points from transition, and we have a history of really wearing people down,” Harvey said. “I knew St. Joseph was going to play hard, and I know they were scrappy. We usually have a six- or seven-minute stretch where we go on a roll. If opponents can withstand that it will be a pretty tight game, otherwise we can usually put them away.”
Gabi Teneyuca and Sandy Ramirez led the Lady Apaches with 10 points apiece. Teneyuca had four rebounds, and Ramirez had three rebounds and three steals. Boyle and Parker each finished with eight points and combined for five rebounds and six steals as every player scored for Antonian.
Martinez said her team has only dealt with that kind of defensive pressure one other time this season.
“I think a lot of it was mental for us,” she said. “The only team that put that kind of pressure on us was Harlingen (High). When that happens, the frustration gets to you. It was hard on us (Saturday).”
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.