By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Brownsville Veterans Memorial needed to be more aggressive in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit to Hanna.
The Lady Chargers used their defense and Hannah Meyers and Lizzie Garza combined for 15 points as they outscored the Lady Golden Eagles 25-14 in the third and Brownsville Veterans held off Hanna 59-47 in a non-district girls basketball game Tuesday at Hanna.
“We knew we had to come out strong (in the second half) to win,” Meyers said. “Working with what the defense was giving us and making sure we were cutting and passing the ball.”
Meyers finished with 15 points and Garza had 16 points as the Lady Chargers pulled away in the third quarter as Meyers had eight and Garza had seven to open the second half. The two combined for 10 rebounds and five steals.
“We weren’t getting the 50/50 balls (in the first half),” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “In the second half we saw more players on the floor and chasing down the 50/50 balls. We picked up the intensity and the hustle … I think that was the difference.”
Mia Paz led the Lady Eagles with 16 points and Ariana Arceneaux added 15 points and 17 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a poor-shooting second half.
“I don’t think we shot the ball well from the beginning to the end,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “In the third quarter, we especially went cold, so that was the difference in the ball game. (The Lady Chargers) were more aggressive, they came out ready to play in the second half. Our shots weren’t falling and we had good looks. Most nights those shots would fall, but that’s the game of basketball.”
Hanna started the opening quarter on a 5-0 run, but a 3-pointer by Destiny Contreras and a pair of free throws by Meyers tied the game at 5. The teams went back-and-forth and the Lady Eagles’ Jackie De La Rosa hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 11 after the first quarter.
Hanna got a 3-pointer from Paz and a 3-point play by Arceneaux to open up a 17-13 lead and then Reischeel Ocampo hit a jumper to extend the lead to 22-16. A layup by Brownsville Veterans’ Alyssa Esquivel cut the deficit to four, but Arceneaux had another 3-point play to push it to 25-18. Garza would score five straight points, including a 3-pointer to end the half and the Lady Chargers got within two at the break.
After Arceneaux opened the third with another 3-point play on a steal, Meyers hit a layup to get within one at 28-27. After Paz hit a 3-pointer to extend the Hanna lead to four points, Garza hit a pair of free throws and then hit a 3-pointer as Brownsville Veterans took a 39-35 lead. Meyers later added a 3 and keep the lead at four and the Lady Chargers finished the quarter on a 6-1 run to push the advantage to nine points by the end of the third.
“They are a great-coached team and had a lot to do with that, but the bottom line is we have to make shots to win ball games,” Gonzalez said. “I think we settled too much for the outside shot. (The Lady Chargers) attacked the basket and got us in foul trouble.
“I think we’re a better team, but we got outplayed (Tuesday).”
The teams traded buckets in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Eagles couldn’t close the gap as Brownsville Veterans hit 24 of 30 from the charity stripe during the game to seal the victory.
That is something that Brownsville Veterans, despite being a young squad this season, has done very well thus far.
“We’re getting to the free throw line more than everybody else,” Paz said. “We want to win the free throw margin … that means we’re being aggressive offensively, but we have to hit them. Those are easy points and I’m glad we picked a good night to hit them because we weren’t hitting very well from the field.”
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.