By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers started quickly, taking a 7-0 lead before the McAllen Memorial Lady Mustangs scored a bucket during a 53-31 victory Tuesday at Brownsville Veterans.
The Lady Chargers extended their lead to a 16-3 advantage after the first quarter and never trailed as Jordan Rudd led the way with seven points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals.
The Brownsville Veterans defense was tough, switching from man to zone to presses that forced the Lady Mustangs to force passes and led to several turnovers along the way.
Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said the game plan was to not allow McAllen Memorial to get its offense set up in the halfcourt.
“We wanted to force the bigs to run the floor and not let them get set on the blocks,” he said. “It was our defensive (prowess today). We held them to just three points in the first quarter.”
McAllen Memorial coach Clarisse Arredondo wasn’t sure what happened to her team from the start.
“I just think we weren’t ready to play,” she said. “Brownsville Veterans, in my opinion, is a very strong team, one of the top teams in the Valley. I schedule games like this to prepare for district. I wish we would have shown up to play, bottom line.”
With the Lady Chargers’ defense creating opportunities for the offense, Brownsville Veterans took advantage, extending the lead to 17 points by halftime on the strength of good shooting.
“We had great ball movement,” Paz said. “There were four or five sequences where we made two or three extra passes that led to a good shot or an even better shot.”
Sarah Sandoval had six points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal, Maria Rios finished with six points and six rebounds, and Ares Muzquiz added five points and six rebounds for Brownsville Veterans.
Arredondo was disappointed with her team’s play, but especially that of her post players.
“Some games you’re ready to play and some you’re not, kids are kids,” she said. “We got off to a slow start, and I think that my bigs didn’t show up today at all. They weren’t running the offense. They weren’t even posting up. They were just going through the motions.
“We couldn’t do anything with our inside game.”
Victoria Izaquirre led the Lady Mustangs with 11 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Draila Banks had five points, 10 rebounds and a steal, and Kailey Caldwell added six points for McAllen Memorial.
The Lady Chargers strive to be better defensively this season.
“We want to be able to change defenses (throughout the game), go from man to zone to press,” Paz said. “So our main objective is defense this year.”
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.