JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN— What a ball game!
The non-district contest between Edinburg Vela and Harlingen South on Tuesday was truly a nail bitter as the game came down to the last possessions.
In the end, the Lady Hawks defended their nest against the Lady SaberCats in a close, hard-fought 30-27 victory.
The Lady Hawks got off to a slow start, committing several turnovers in the beginning minutes which allowed the Lady SaberCats to take control.
The Lady Hawks’ offense was out of tune early on and head coach Kelly Garrett loudly urged her players to pick up the pace.
“I told them we had to be more active, attack their defense and get into the open gaps,” she said.
Garrett’s pep talk worked as the Lady Hawks racked up the points after that and took a 17-13 lead heading into halftime. The team’s nine steals may have been the difference in the game early on.
Edinburg Vela entered the bonus with 1:14 left in the third and cut into South’s lead.
After notching several free throws, Vela cut the lead down to four with South holding onto a razor-thin 29-25 lead with 1:58 left in the game.
The Lady Hawks felt the pressure when Edinburg Vela’s Kayleen Rios hit a three pointer with 25 second left that closed the lead to 29-27 South.
But in the finals seconds, Harlingen South’s Cameron Del Angel took a trip to the line and drained a crucial free throw to push the lead to 30-27.
Del Angel not only made the crucial free throw, but she sealed South’s victory with a block on Vela’s Rios to close the game.
It’s often said that defense wins championships and solid D certainly helped the Lady Hawks push their winning streak to three games.
South freshmen Laura Ramirez and Karla Reyes combined for 11 steals and 11 points in the team’s three-point victory.
“They’re doing a great job and are really coming in to it just in time for district,” Garrett said. “They compliment each other and the team very well”
“Once we get our defense going our offense gets in rhythm and helps us win games,” Reyes added.
South opens up District 32-6A play against crosstown rival Harlingen High next Tuesday at 7:30.