HARLINGEN — As the saying goes, “you get what you put in” and for the Lady Cardinals that special ingredient has always been teamwork. One way or another the team finds a way to win.
Evident by their impressive 25-3, 10-0 record, Harlingen has been breezing by their district opponents. However, Tuesday night was completely different as the Lady Cardinals narrowly defeated rivals San Benito 44-35 to keep their unblemished district streak alive.
“In the beginning we were second guessing ourselves,” said Harlingen head coach Ashley Moncivaiz. “We weren’t doing what we normally do because we got into some foul trouble and it took us out of our element.
“But we did adjustments to our press, among other things, and it started bringing us back to life.”
With 1:29 left in the fourth, Harlingen’s Marissa Gasca stepped up to the free-throw line and sank two crucial shots to widen the gap to seven points. The senior came up big for the Lady Cardinals, scoring six of her game-high 19 points in the fourth.
“A lot of people don’t really talk about her and a lot of people don’t really notice the things that she does,” said Moncivaiz of Gasca. “She’s had to change her role from a guard to a point guard when Kayla (Perez) went out. She’s had to make some adjustments but they’ve made her more confident, by playing better defense and finishing her shots.”
San Benito struck first and struck hard, building a 12-6 first-period lead. Cheyenne Anaya got the Lady Greyhounds off to a fast start, netting seven of her 11 points in the quarter as Harlingen struggled to get anything going.
Addison Dickey got the scoring started in the second as the Lady Cards began chipping away at the lead.
With 2:00 left in the period, Gasca hit a three-pointer to give Harlingen its first lead of the game. However, San Benito quickly regained the lead heading into the half up 21-20.
Harlingen’s foul trouble hindered the team from getting into any kind of rhythm as San Benito responded to everything the Lady Cardinals dished out.
Harlingen’s defense dominated the fourth allowing just three points, outscoring San Benito 13-3 to avoid the upset.
The Lady Greyhounds dropped to 12-16, 4-5 with a game against Brownsville Veterans on Friday at home.
With four games remaining, the Lady Cardinals welcome Los Fresnos on Friday as the Lady Falcons try to stay in the hunt for a postseason spot.