BY ANDREW CRUM, STAFF WRITER
PORT ISABEL — Port Isabel started slow, but found its momentum against Raymondville.
The Lady Tarpons used an 11-0 run to start the second half and pulled away from the Lady Bearkats 55-37 in a District 32-4A game Friday night.
Sophomore Gabby Murchison finished with 14 points —including six points in the 11-0 surge — nine rebounds and three steals and freshman Ryley Galvan had a game-high 16 points with eight rebounds and three steals for Port Isabel (5-4 in District 32-4A) in a crucial victory over Raymondville (4-5).
After a close knit first half, it was a 3-pointer by junior Ava Gomez at the buzzer that pushed the Lady Tarpons ahead and gave them the momentum as they headed into the locker room with a 30-28 edge.
“It was confidence,” Murchison said. “Once that 3-pointer hit, our confidence in our shooting went way up and everybody was pumped. We started shooting more and we made our shots.”
With momentum on its side, Port Isabel used its defense to start an 11-0 push to open the third period. Murchison was the catalyst, scoring six points during the run to give the hosts a 41-28 lead after clinging to the two-point lead at the break.
Port Isabel outscored Raymondville 13-2 in the third and led 43-30 with a quarter to go.
“That 3 at the buzzer really sparked something in them,” Port Isabel coach Blake Ramsey said. “They felt pumped after that and we rode that momentum to start the (third) quarter.”
The Lady Tarpons would continue to pull away in the fourth quarter; a pair of jumpers by Kenedy Martinez gave them a 48-30 lead. Galvan and Murchison continued to help put the game out of reach, the freshman’s bucket late in the fourth pushed the advantage to 20 points before the Lady Bearkats hit a few shots late for the final tally.
“We gave up that 3 at the end of the first half and I think that had a lot to do with our psyche,” Raymondville coach Felix Silva, Jr. said. “That momentum change has happened a couple times in losses for us. I believe we got out-hustled in that second half, every loose ball seemed to go their way. They got second, third and fourth opportunities after missed shots. And we didn’t make shots in the second half like we did in the first half.”
Port Isabel finished with 21 steals in the game, many coming in the second half that helped its defense clamp down and hold Raymondville to just nine points over the final 16 minutes of play.
“We really locked it down,” Ramsey said. “That’s one thing I told them at halftime: ‘If we continue to score the way we are and play better defense, we’re going to pull away.’ And that’s what we did.”
Port Isabel fell behind early as Raymondville started the game on 5-0 run, but the Lady Tarpons slowly cut into the deficit in the opening quarter. Port Isabel erased a three-point deficit when it started the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 15-12 lead on a pair of jumpers by Galvan and a bucket by Murchison. The teams would go back and forth until the buzzer beat by Gomez set the tone for the second half.
Galvan had nine points and Murchison and Gomez each had eight in the first half for Port Isabel. Gomez finished with nine points, five rebounds and six steals and Jasmine Saldivar had five steals for the Lady Tarpons.
Mireya Cervantes led Raymondville with 11 points, including seven in the first half. Ilanie Zamora finished with six points and eight rebounds for Raymondville.
The teams were tied in the standings for the fourth spot in district and the victory for Port Isabel could be big down the stretch with five games left in the second half of district to determine postseason berths. Raymondville took the first district meeting at home, 30-24.
“We’re still in the mix,” Silva said. “But we have to come up with some wins down the road. We have some tough games coming up, so we have to find a way to win.”
With the two teams and Rio Hondo all tied for the fourth spot in district, the win was important for Port Isabel.
“It was huge,” Ramsey said. “The girls knew that if it comes down to us being tied with any of those teams, we have to at least split them. I think that was extra motivation for us.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.