BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
DONNA — Mercedes knew the game against Donna High would be tough. The Tigers knew the game would be decided in the paint.
Donna High’s top two priorities on defense were senior Jacklynn Flores and sophomore Jazmine Flores. And, for the most part, Donna succeeded in slowing them down. But the focus allowed freshman forward Mika Vento and junior forward Roslynn Rodriguez to step up for the Lady Tigers, propelling Mercedes to a 54-50 win to open the second round of District 32-5A play.
“We grinded it out tonight, didn’t we?” Mercedes coach Monica Meza said. “Coming to Donna, it’s always tough. And it’s always tough being here the second time around, because we knew they were going to put up a fight. They did last year, they did this year. It’s a good rivalry game. I’m very proud of my girls for stepping up and hitting some huge shots when we needed them.”
For Mercedes, the game was won in the paint. The physical game with plenty of fouls allowed Vento and Rodriguez to control the paint for the Tigers.
The Flores sisters led the way for Mercedes early, but Donna was able to limit their damage. Jacklynn finished with 8, and Jazmine added 10.
Instead, Mercedes was led by Rodriguez and Vento, who played impressively on the defensive end and scored 16 points, including showing off some range with a 3-pointer in the second quarter.
“Mika played really aggressively,” Rodriguez said. “She did really good. She stepped up her game and helped us get that win.”
Rodriguez did her part, as well, scoring 6 points and helping Vento pester Donna forward Melanie Arenas all night.
“I think (Rodriguez and Vento) stepped up pretty well,” Meza said. “They took on that challenge. I challenged them at the beginning of the game about who is more aggressive, who is more physical and who wanted it more. And I thought they both did a pretty good job. They traded off guarding (Arenas), and sometimes she got the best of them, and sometimes we got the best of her, so I thought they did a heck of a job.”
The focus defensively for Mercedes was on Arenas.
“We knew that (Arenas) was going to be a big threat on their team,” Jacklynn Flores said. “So, we knew that, coming in, we were going to have to shut her down, as well as her teammates.”
Donna’s other forward, Miranda Sandoval, also gave Mercedes problems. But the sophomore ran into foul trouble early and fouled out before the game got close at the end.
Arenas finished with 20 points for Donna, including going 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. Sandoval and Brianna Quesada each added 8 points. Poor free-throw shooting was one of the biggest factors for Donna.
“We lost the battle on the free-throw line,” Donna High coach Kevin Kromer said. “I think we outplayed them. I give them full credit. They are a tough team to beat, and they beat us. But they beat us on the free-throw line for sure, because we missed 14 free throws. Give me four of those and it’s an overtime game. Give me five and its over. I’m proud of my kids. They fought.”
Mercedes dominated in the first quarter, leading 22-12. But Donna High used the time between periods wisely and came back out fighting. In less than four minutes, they closed the gap to 2 points.
Mercedes had to pull back from the full-court press to focus attention on the offensive end. Again, Mercedes grew the lead and took a 39-30 advantage to the locker room at halftime. Midway through the third quarter, Donna High went on a 15-0 run. The final basket of the run, a layup from Quesada, gave the Bravettes a 47-45 lead, their first lead of the game.
Vento hit one of two free throws, then made another basket to get Mercedes the lead back with 2:29 remaining in the game. Donna never retook the lead after that.
“It was a great game,” Kromer said. “Hats off to them, because they put them in when they needed to. But I’m proud of my kids. We did a good job on their two best players, and they had a couple of other kids step up and hit some shots.”