By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
LOS FRESNOS — Both Los Fresnos and Hanna were fighting to stay in the postseason race.
The Lady Falcons got the upper hand and used a strong second half to pull away for a 41-20 victory over the Lady Golden Eagles in a District 32-6A girls basketball game Friday.
“In the second half, we got a little spark and we were able to work together as a team,” Britney Ruiz said. “It’s all about team work, hard work. We’re expecting to get that playoff spot, so we’re going to continue to practice hard and hope for the best.” Ruiz scored 10 of her 12 points after the break and added nine rebounds and a steal to lead Los Fresnos (7-4 in District 32-6A) and stay in fourth place with three games to play. It was a tough shooting night for both teams, but Hanna (4-7) struggled to get into an offensive groove, fell behind early and wasn’t able to make a comeback as it fell back in the district standings.
“Britney is a really hard worker, she’s one of our senior captains. I think she executed her role (Friday),” Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez said. “She boxed out and rebounded, so I’m happy with her performance.”
The Lady Falcons got off to a quick start in the opening quarter. Ari Gallardo got them started with a 3-pointer to open the game and added a bucket soon after. Ruiz added a putback during the mix as Los Fresnos began with a 12-0 run. Odalys Gonzalez ended the drought for Hanna with a layup, but that’s all it would get as the Lady Falcons led 12-2 after one.
“We picked the wrong night to play our worst basketball of the season,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “Nothing against Los Fresnos, but we beat ourselves in the first quarter, we didn’t shoot well.”
After a Los Fresnos bucket, Paz got the Lady Eagles going with a three-point play and Jackie De La Rosa hit a pair of free throws to get within 14-7. Jessica Fuentes hit a free throw and added a putback to push the Lady Falcons lead back to 10, before Hanna’s Ariana Arceneaux hit a layup. Los Fresnos got a 3 from
Jasmin Garcia to extend the lead to 20-9 at the break.
The Lady Falcons started to pull away in the second half. Ruiz hit a pair of free throws to make it 22-9, but Paz answered with a steal and a bucket to get within 22-11. Gallardo hit a 3 for Los Fresnos to push the lead back to 14. Gallardo and Ruiz each had four points in the third quarter as the Lady Falcons had a 17-point edge through three.
“We had some looks, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Gonzalez said. “I thought we had a good game plan defensively, but the game of basketball is funny. We couldn’t hit our shots and a lot had to do with Los Fresnos’ defense. The basketball gods weren’t in our favor (Friday).”
Hanna tried to come back as Paz opened the final quarter with a three-point play, but Fuentes answered with a three-point play of her own. Los Fresnos got six points from Ruiz and used free throws down the stretch to keep the Lady Eagles at bay and seal the district victory.
Gallardo finished with 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals and Fuentes added nine points and 11 rebounds and two steals for the Lady Falcons.
Paz led Hanna with 12 points, four rebounds and four steals and De La Rosa added four points, two rebounds, a couple assists and a steal.
Despite the loss, the Lady Eagles feel they can get back on track and make a playoff push.
“These girls have a lot of fight left, I’m not going to count them out,” Gonzalez said. “We’re going to continue to fight during these next three games … we’ll be all right.”
Los Fresnos is in control for the fourth postseason spot after three straight district wins.
“We talked about the second round (of district) and how if we wanted to get that playoff spot,” Valdez said. “We had to fight every game … this was just another battle where we came out on top. I’m proud of my girls and their work ethic since we started the second half. They really want this, so I’m excited.
“Our mentality is to keep fighting … we’ll fight to the end and not give up.”
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.