By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
RAYMONDVILLE — The Brownsville Hanna Lady Eagles used a big third quarter to defeat the Raymondville Lady Bearkats 57-38 in a non-district matchup Tuesday evening.
Raymondville got off to a good start, jumping out to an 11-2 lead. Some free throws by Caitlynn Brooks, buckets by Zaleah Gardner and Mia Sayas and a 3-pointer by Denae Hernandez were the highlights of the run.
Hanna chipped away and cut the lead to 13-11 to end the quarter. Hanna’s Yazmin Rucoba, Sofia Roman and Amie Bustos began to get a better feel for the game and knocked down some shots during the second quarter.
Rianna Trevino hustled while pushing point and Marie Neme chipped in some rebounds and a basket down low every now and then.
“The girls played well,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “We started a little slow, but we think this is a good opportunity for these girls to get ready for district. We were down early, and we were able to fight back with our defense more than anything.”
With the game tied at 15 during the second quarter, Rucoba and her untied shoes hit a big shot and dropped a dime to Neme, taking the lead by 4. Rucoba scored another basket before the half to give the Lady Eagles a 25-20 lead.
“I tell the girls all the time (that) our shots are not always going to be on, our defense needs to be on,” Gonzalez said. “Defensively we picked it up, which helped our offense.”
It was raining 3-pointers during the third quarter for the Lady Eagles. Rucoba, Roman, Trevino and Bustos were all money from downtown, combining for six 3-pointers in the quarter.
Brooks answered for Raymondville down low, but it was not enough. Hanna often found space for its shots on inbounds plays. The Lady Eagles, especially Roman, did a good job at ditching their markers for the open looks.
“That is something we have been practicing a lot, our half-court offense,” Gonzalez said. “In district we are going to have to play a lot of half-court offense, and these ladies were able to execute tonight. It was a blessing to see something we practice be executed tonight.”
When the dust settled in the third, Hanna was up 50-32. The Lady Eagles clamped down on Raymondville in the fourth, finishing out the game.