By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Things are coming together for the girls basketball teams at Rivera and Hanna as they enter a new year and continue to adapt to their new head coaches.
Actually, it’s a mutual process for players and coaches alike.
“I like what I see from our girls, even though we’re still in transition,” said Rivera coach Willie Brown, who came over from Hanna this school year. “The players are learning my system, and I’m learning their strengths and weaknesses.”
It’s a similar situation at Hanna for coach Luis Gonzalez.
“It’s about improving every single game,” Gonzalez said. “I have confidence in these girls. When it’s all said and done (at the end of the regular season), we want to be one of the top four teams in our district and make a playoff run.”
For those keeping a scorecard, prior to the current school year, Abel Moreno exited Rivera to coach the girls team at San Benito. He was replaced at Rivera by Brown, who was replaced at Hanna by Gonzalez, the former boys coach at Lopez.
Everyone seems content wearing new school colors. For Gonzalez, it’s a chance to return to his alma mater, where he played for longtime coach Don Denson, a 2005 Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee.
BIG BONUS: Gonzalez is learning he has several girls who can carry the offensive load for the Lady Golden Eagles, who are seventh in the latest Valley rankings.
Those players include posts Alicia Chavez (12 points per game) and Taylor Cano (eight) plus guards Priscilla Hernandez (seven) and Janet Adame (six). Also, Cano averages 7.5 rebounds per game.
“We’ve had six different leading scorers (in games) so far this season,” Gonzalez said. “We’re pretty balanced offensively. It’s one of our strong points, and it’s a big bonus for us.”
Adame had 10 points and Cano and Chavez each added eight during the Lady Eagles’ 45-21 victory Monday over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at the Blizzard Bash tournament in McAllen hosted by McAllen Memorial.
The Hanna girls defeated Pace 47-23 Tuesday at the tournament behind 13 points from Hernandez and seven each from Adame and Jessica Muñoz. Hanna is 14-6 after a 48-32 los to Brownsville Veterans Memorial in its final tournament game.
The Lady Eagles are 1-2 in District 32-6A and resume district play Tuesday at Lopez.
Gonzalez said another important contributor is point guard Carolina Moreno.
“She’s very quick and is giving us a spark defensively,” the Hanna coach said.
Gonzalez appreciates his bench players, too. They include forwards Muñoz and Dahlia Reyes along with guard Vanessa Herrera.
“Our bench has been a big factor in each of our wins,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve given us a boost. We count on them for points, rebounds and effort.”
ON THE RISE: Brown knows his team at Rivera has promise for this season and beyond.
“We have a pretty young team,” he said. “We start one senior, and the rest are sophomores and juniors.”
The Lady Raiders are 7-10 overall and 1-2 in 32-6A. They don’t play again until Tuesday when they travel to Harlingen South for a district game.
April Gonzalez, a senior guard, leads the Lady Raiders by scoring 15 points per game. Ulyssa Alvarado, a junior forward, is the team’s top rebounder and averages eight boards per game.
Brown said the junior threesome of point guard Darcy Cardenas and forwards Kassandra Garcia and Gisel Hinojosa are “all pitching in and playing good defense for us.”
The Rivera coach said additional contributors to the team include senior post Kenya Rodriguez, senior forward Lindsay Schuster and junior guard Jenny Cardenas, who is Darcy’s sister.
“Our girls just need to keep working hard and continue to pick up their games,” Brown said. “We’re getting better.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess