KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans Memorial tipped off District 32-5A play with a bang.
The Lady Chargers hit their first three shots from three-point range, and their hot shooting was led by the trio of JuJu Alvarez, Bry Butureira and Lizzy Garza in a 60-32 win over Brownsville Pace on Tuesday night.
“Starting off with a win in district is important,” Lady Chargers coach Arnold Torres said. “What we wanted to do was get off to a great start, and the girls were able to do that defensively. We were able to transition into easy baskets, and that was a good starting point for the game.”
The Lady Chargers raced out to an 11-0 lead. Pace eventually found the rim and trailed 13-2.
Along with the crisp shooting came the defense that forced Pace into multiple turnovers, and Brownsville Veterans extended its lead to 22-4 to end the first quarter.
“We had been struggling with our shot the last few games,” Torres said. “So being able to hit shots early gave the girls the confidence that we needed and that translated to the defensive pressure. But it was a great start. It motivated the girls and gave them confidence.”
Garza netted a team-high 16 points, Alvarez scored 12 and Butureira finished with 10. The Lady Chargers travel to Donna High on Friday seeking a 2-0 start in district.
“Tonight’s win was fun,” Alvarez said. “That is one thing we wanted to come out and do. We had some tough preseason games along the way and we took some tough losses, but we feel it prepared us for district and we have been working hard these past few weeks.”
During the third quarter, the Lady Chargers picked up where they left off and outscored Pace 17-5. Garza led the Brownsville Veterans offense with eight third-quarter points.
Pace managed to post 16 points during the fourth quarter and shot much better from the floor. Pricilla Garcia led all scorers with 21 points. She hit four 3-pointers during the final period, netted 15 points in the quarter.
Pace now shifts its focus to Edcouch-Elsa on Friday night.
“We felt ready and prepared when we came into the game tonight,” Alvarez said. “We give each other pep talks, and I think that helped us, and it was also our district opener, too, so that got us going. When we started hitting all those 3s we felt great, and we just kept it going.”