TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — The McAllen Rowe Lady Warriors have learned some hard lessons this year.
The team, which starts just one senior, entered Tuesday’s game against La Joya High with an overall record of just 4-14. A tough start to the season by any measure.
But Coach Raul Vega realized that with the onset of District 30-6A play, the slate is wiped clean, and the record that matters starts at zero again.
Fortunately for him, the Lady Warriors overcame a shaky start at home, got hot in the second half and senior Diana Gonzalez scored 20 points to upset the Lady Coyotes 53-43 Tuesday night. The victory boosts Rowe to 5-14, 1-0. But it’s the 1-0 that counts.
“I think this being the first district game, nerves played a part for both sides, and I think we missed some easy shots. They missed some easy shots,” Vega said. “It was just a matter of who was going to settle down quicker and adjust to the emotion of the first district game. And I think we did a good job of it tonight.”
Settle they did. But it certainly didn’t look that way early on. In the first half, Rowe made just 4 of 10 free throws, shot 7 of 25 from the field and turned the ball over eight times. What helped Rowe was that the visiting Lady Coyotes were even colder, and that allowed Rowe to eek out an 18-8 halftime lead.
La Joya High came out determined after intermission and went on a 10-4 run and to get within 6 points of Rowe. Later in the third, La Joya cut the lead ever further, trailing just 27-23 with a couple minutes left in the period. But behind Gonzalez and junior forward Jovanni Solis, who scored 17 points, the Lady Warriors kept La Joya at arm’s length.
And the two really got to work in the fourth, when Gonzalez scored 11 points and Solis added 7 more. The Lady Coyotes scored 18 points of their own in the fourth, but the deficit was too big to overcome, and Rowe was able to close out the game with a flurry of late hoops.
“We just had to work hard. That was what kept us going and got us warmed up,” said Gonzalez, who also pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds and scored on drives to the basket. “Driving is better to draw a foul, or just getting to the basket fast. And now that we have started district, we are just focused on one thing, and that’s making the playoffs.”
La Joya’s record dropped to 0-1 in district and an even 11-11 overall. The Lady Coyotes were sparked by sophomore Giselle Villarreal’s four 3-pointers and 13 points. Monica Garcia added 8 points and 9 rebounds, and Lupita Rodriguez had 8 points, as well.