BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The last instruction given by McAllen Rowe Lady Warriors girls basketball coach Raul Vega on Friday night was directed at the scoreboard operator.
“Hold on to that ball,” he said.
Vega wanted a memento after his team’s impressive 52-21 home win over the La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos to secure the District 30-6A championship.
“It’s a reminder to remind me years from now of the girls that I had and how hard they worked to get to where they’re at,” Vega said. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Rowe’s goal this season was not necessarily to win district, however. The Lady Warriors would have been pleased simply with securing a postseason berth. That was before they won 16 of 18 – including a sweep of district runner-up Palmview.
“Every game (this year), we went in not knowing what was going to happen,” Rowe forward Ryela Rodriguez said between bites of celebratory pizza. “We just went (into games) and played and things just stared working for us.”
Indeed, everything did work for Rowe on Friday.
The Lady Warriors never trailed against Palmview, who were playing for the chance to create a first-place tie with one game remaining in the regular season. Junior guard Deanna Spear scored the first bucket and Rowe never trailed.
Spear, a quick-footed defender, scored 8 points and was tasked with guarding Palmview’s Samantha Gutierrez, the Lady Lobos’ most potent offensive threat.
“It’s intense,” Spear said of guarding an opposing guard of similar speed. “It’s never an easy thing to do. You can’t take a break for a little second because they’re going to get by you.”
Gutierrez, who averages over 16 points per game, was held 5. Her teammate, senior guard Monica Noyola, was limited to 6. Both were routinely flustered by Rowe’s stingy defenders, who cut off passing lanes and hounded the ball. Through three quarters, Palmview was held to just 15 points while Rowe equaled that total in the second quarter alone.
It’s that tough-minded mixture of defense and speed which has spurred Rowe’s run from worst to first.
“The kids played tough tonight,” Vega said. “Our defense created some easy buckets for us, and that gave us a little bit of a lead to stretch (Palmview) out and get them out of their comfort zone. They played as well as I could have asked for.”
Rowe’s march to a district title began inconspicuously. The team mustered six victories last season and was relegated to the district’s basement. The roster was full of youth but was absent varsity experience.
“We went through a lot of obstacles last season,” junior forward Mayda Garcia said. “A lot of the girls have improved and I’m proud of them.”
Garcia led the Lady Warriors (20-12, 10-1) in scoring with 17 points, and cheered on the reserves from the bench in the final minutes.
Though Palmview (19-10, 8-3) will have to wait another year to compete for a district title, the Lady Lobos have nonetheless made history of their own. Despite the loss, the program is guaranteed its first post season appearance.
“We’ve done the best that we can with what we have,” Palmview coach Anisa Reyna said. “Regardless, we’ve had a great season and we’re on the way to legitimacy in this district.”