The girls high school basketball season kicked off in the Rio Grande Valley on Friday night and through the first week of regular-season play, a pair of playoff teams at the Class 5A and 6A levels in Sharyland Pioneer and Weslaco High, respectively, have made the biggest statements out of the gate.
The Diamondbacks enter a new and deep District 31-5A this season after a 2019-20 campaign that was highlighted by an undefeated run through district play and a march to the area round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Pioneer also welcomed back senior forward Audrey Hornaday, the 2017-18 District 31-5A Newcomer of the Year and the district’s MVP in 2018-19, who missed most of last season due to a knee injury.
Hornaday’s presence on the court seemed to give the Diamondbacks an immediate boost, as the team rolled to a 50-18 blowout road win over Weslaco East in their season opener.
McAllen Rowe, one of Pioneer’s new district foes, was the busiest team in the RGV over the course of the season’s opening weekend. The Warriors won back-to-back games to kick off the 2020-21 campaign, including a narrow road win at La Joya High on Friday night followed up by a blowout of San Benito in their home opener Saturday afternoon.
Rowe should challenge for a postseason berth in the Rio Grande Valley’s deepest 5A district after becoming one of the Valley’s turnaround teams last season, but the Warriors ran into their first speed bump of the season going up against one of the District 32-6A frontrunners.
Weslaco High toppled Rowe 49-33 in its home opener Tuesday night after opening up with a dominant victory at La Joya to start the season Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers are coming off a trip to the third round of the Class 6A playoff and must replace The Monitor’s 2019-20 All-Area Defensive Player of the Year in Hayley Villalpando, but Weslaco also returns The Monitor’s reigning Newcomer of the Year in sophomore center Morgan Perlaez and one of the deepest backcourts in 32-6A.
Weslaco High should battle back and forth with Harlingen High, the 20th-ranked Class 6A team in the state according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association preseason rankings.
However, the Cardinals started their season with a hiccup dropping their season opener to a talented Laredo Alexander squad in overtime before rebounding with a 69-point win over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln on Saturday.
Harlingen High will face off against Edinburg High, the consensus two highest-ranked girls basketball teams in the RGV in preseason polls, at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Edinburg in the most high-profile non-district game of the season so far.
Valley Girls HS Basketball Scores
Nov. 11, 2020
Friday’s Games
Non-District
McAllen Rowe 40, La Joya High 32
Saturday’s Games
Non-District
Laredo Alexander 65, Harlingen High 62 (OT)
McAllen Rowe 48, San Benito 23
Weslaco High 74, La Joya High 20
Monday’s Games
Non-District
Brownsville Hanna 59, Brownsville Pace 25
Edinburg Vela 62, McAllen High 43
Harlingen High 78, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 9
Sharyland Pioneer 50, Weslaco East 18
Tuesday’s Games
Non-District
Los Fresnos 66, Brownsville Porter 6
Weslaco High 49, McAllen Rowe 33
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch