By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers kept rolling through their District 32-5A schedule Friday, picking up a 59-39 road win over the Brownsville Pace Lady Vikings.
Brownsville Veterans distributed the ball to showcase its deep arsenal of talented shooters and dominated on the glass to improve to 14-2, 6-0. Their impressive play has the Lady Chargers ranked in the top 25 in two statewide polls, but coach Arnold Torres isn’t letting that recognition get to his girls’ heads.
“I tell them not to get caught up in the rankings. Regardless of your ranking, every game is different and anybody can come out and beat you,” Torres said. “What we’re trying to emphasize is being prepared for the next game. If you play as a team, if your team does well, your individual stats and all that will take care of themselves. The girls have bought into it, and I think that’s been the key to our success.”
The Lady Chargers immediately took control of the game behind the efforts of Caite Esquivel (19 points), Alexa Torres (13 points), Bry Buitureira (19 points) and JuJu Alvarez. Alexa Torres scored all seven of her first-quarter points on three consecutive possessions — first she drained a spot-up 3-pointer, then she capitalized on her team’s defensive efficiency with back-to-back transition layups.
Alvarez and Esquivel looked like professional pick-pockets at the top of the Lady Chargers’ defensive setup. Buitureira locked down the paint to help Brownsville Veterans jump out to a 21-3 head after the first quarter.
“I think we did a good job at the beginning of the game moving the ball,” Arnold Torres said. “When we move the ball, it makes us a lot better because we have different options, instead of just keeping the ball in one girl’s hands, and it gives opportunities for different girls to step up every game. In this game, Bry had a good game, Alexa had a good game, but it comes back to Caite getting the rebound or JuJu making the pass.”
Ashley Gonzalez and Ariel Barrientos (nine points) were the catalysts for a 19-point second quarter from the Lady Vikings. The pair energized Pace’s defense as they battled for rebounds and pressured Brownsville Veterans’ shooters. Gonzalez was productive on offense as well, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring eight of her 14 points in the frame to keep her team competitive.
Buitureira and Alexa Torres maintained the Lady Chargers’ lead despite improved play from Pace with their offensive production. Buitureira showed off her ball-handling skills and footwork to maneuver through Pace’s defense and scored 10 points during the second quarter. Torres knocked down two more 3s to open the lead to 41-22 at halftime.
The Lady Chargers stifled Pace’s offense in the third, holding the Lady Vikings to six points. Buitureira and Kassy Garcia positioned themselves well to continue winning the rebounding battle, and Esquivel used her quick hands to force turnovers and miscues by Pace.
“The last game that we played, we didn’t do a very good job boxing out. So that was one of the things we emphasized the last couple of days,” Arnold Torres said. “We did a better job today, and because of that we were able to get the ball out in transition.”
Despite trailing 57-28 heading into the final quarter, the Lady Vikings continued to play hard. Gonzalez, Barrientos, Ana Briones and Andie Lozano-Lomeli were key contributors on offense and defense to chip away at the deficit. Lozano-Lomeli showed her potential in the paint, getting up for rebounds and keeping the ball high for putbacks. The Lady Vikings held Brownsville Veterans to just two points in the frame.
“The last three quarters we played tough. We came out slow in the first quarter, but the rest of the game we stayed with them,” Pace coach Eddie Lozano said. “That’s a good ball club. Everybody can shoot and everybody does their job, so I’m proud of our girls for sticking with it and playing tough. We moved the ball well in the second half and we got the shots we wanted. We just have to work on our rebounding. They got a lot of points off their offensive rebounds.”