BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Wednesday’s game was a close summation of recent events for the PSJA North Lady Raiders – inconsistent play followed by brilliant execution en route to another win.
But there was no saving grace of victory against Harlingen High during the McAllen Memorial tournament championship game. Though the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Cardinals by 13 in the final two quarters, an uninspired first half equaled a 62-57 loss.
“They came out and were pretty tough on us,” North senior forward Belle Palacios said. “They knew how to stop us, we didn’t expect that. But I think we did pretty good keeping up with them, but we just fell short.”
After trailing by double digits for much of the evening, a pair of free throws from North’s Stephanie Crispin made it 60-57 in favor of Harlingen with 90 seconds remaining. But a spirited comeback led by Palacios — who scored a team-high 19 points — and guard Sarah Serrano (12 points) was rendered futile by a pair of back-to-back turnovers to give Harlingen its 11th straight win.
While the Lady Raiders played incomplete games against La Joya Palmview, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and McAllen Memorial during the two-day tourney, they were able to scrap and shoot their way to wins. However, Harlingen’s size and defense proved too much.
“We just got pressured early on and couldn’t handle it,” North coach Randy Bocanegra said.
The Lady Raiders, a guard-heavy unit reliant on outside shooting and dribble penetration, was routinely flustered by Harlingen, which ran opposing shooters off the 3-point line and into a lane swarmed by Lady Cardinals.
Harlingen led 10-1 during the early portion of the first quarter, looking every bit like the state-ranked team it is. Tournament MVP Sami Quilantan anchored her team’s defensive attack while post Addison Dickey scored seven of her game-high 21 points during the first quarter. She also notched a double-double by collecting 10 rebounds.
“It was her game,” Harlingen coach Ashley Moncavaiz said. “She was off in our last game against Laredo United. She was missing a lot of shots. At one point she was 1-of-9. I talked to her and she got rested and she came out and played better for us.”
Harlingen coasted to a 34-18 halftime lead. Despite the lofty margin and the appearance of another easy victory, Moncavaiz knew North was too potent to remain clumsy.
“They’re one of those teams that you can never let up against,” she said. “They always find ways to come back and get things going.”
And get going they did. After making just one field goal in the first half, Palacios scored 12 third-quarter points to jump-start her team’s sputtering offense. North started getting steals, leading to easy buckets, and was able to finish in the lane.
“Coach told us, ‘They’re pushing you guys, you gotta push back,’ “Palacios said. “We were scared. We let them stomp on us a lot. We just told each other to get back in the game, and we did. We started scoring.”
But while the Lady Raiders offense rediscovered its spark, their defense continued giving up easy points in the paint. Miscommunication and bad rotations led to more Harlingen buckets at the rim.
The Lady Cardinals enjoyed a 50-34 lead entering the final eight minutes, but a 23-point burst from North almost led to an upset. Lady Raiders guard Sarah Serrano scored seven fourth-quarter points on her fist start of the tournament. Serrano is working her way back from a knee injury.
“She didn’t complain or say anything,” Bocanegra said. “I asked her if her she needed a break. She said, ‘I’m good, coach. Let’s run.’ She brought a lot of energy. Her conditioning might be a little off, but she showed a lot of energy and she’s one of the reasons we made that comeback.”
Their final non-district game complete, the Lady Raiders turn their focus to a competitive District 31-6A and a chance at back-to-back district titles.
It’s going to be a tight game every time we play in district,” Bocanegra said. “We have to be prepared to be able to match other team’s intensity. We didn’t do that the first half.”
SUG: Falling short again
SUG: PSJA North’s second-half comeback not enough to beat Harlingen High
BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE
STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Wednesday’s game was a close summation of recent events for the PSJA North Lady Raiders – inconsistent play followed by brilliant execution en route to another win.
But there was no saving grace of victory against Harlingen High during the McAllen Memorial tournament championship game. Though the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Cardinals by 13 in the final two quarters, an uninspired first half equaled a 62-57 loss.
“They came out and were pretty tough on us,” North senior forward Belle Palacios said. “They knew how to stop us, we didn’t expect that. But I think we did pretty good keeping up with them, but we just fell short.”
After trailing by double digits for much of the evening, a pair of free throws from North’s Stephanie Crispin made it 60-57 in favor of Harlingen with 90 seconds remaining. But a spirited comeback led by Palacios — who scored a team-high 19 points — and guard Sarah Serrano (12 points) was rendered futile by a pair of back-to-back turnovers to give Harlingen its 11th straight win.
While the Lady Raiders played incomplete games against La Joya Palmview, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and McAllen Memorial during the two-day tourney, they were able to scrap and shoot their way to wins. However, Harlingen’s size and defense proved too much.
“We just got pressured early on and couldn’t handle it,” North coach Randy Bocanegra said.
The Lady Raiders, a guard-heavy unit reliant on outside shooting and dribble penetration, was routinely flustered by Harlingen, which ran opposing shooters off the 3-point line and into a lane swarmed by Lady Cardinals.
Harlingen led 10-1 during the early portion of the first quarter, looking every bit like the state-ranked team it is. Tournament MVP Sami Quilantan anchored her team’s defensive attack while post Addison Dickey scored seven of her game-high 21 points during the first quarter. She also notched a double-double by collecting 10 rebounds.
“It was her game,” Harlingen coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “She was off in our last game against Laredo United. She was missing a lot of shots. At one point she was 1-of-9. I talked to her and she got rested and she came out and played better for us.”
Harlingen coasted to a 34-18 halftime lead. Despite the lofty margin and the appearance of another easy victory, Moncavaiz knew North was too potent to remain clumsy.
“They’re one of those teams that you can never let up against,” she said. “They always find ways to come back and get things going.”
And get going they did. After making just one field goal in the first half, Palacios scored 12 third-quarter points to jumpstart her team’s sputtering offense. North started getting steals, leading to easy buckets, and was able to finish in the lane.
“Coach told us, ‘They’re pushing you guys, you gotta push back,’ “Palacios said. “We were scared. We let them stomp on us a lot. We just told each other to get back in the game, and we did. We started scoring.”
But while the Lady Raiders offense rediscovered its spark, their defense continued giving up easy points in the paint. Miscommunication and bad rotations led to more Harlingen buckets at the rim.
The Lady Cardinals enjoyed a 50-34 lead entering the final eight minutes, but a 23-point burst from North almost led to an upset. Lady Raiders guard Sarah Serrano scored seven fourth-quarter points on her fist start of the tournament. Serrano is working her way back from a knee injury.
“She didn’t complain or say anything,” Bocanegra said. “I asked her if her she needed a break. She said, ‘I’m good, coach. Let’s run.’ She brought a lot of energy. Her conditioning might be a little off, but she showed a lot of energy and she’s one of the reasons we made that comeback.”
Their final non-district game complete, the Lady Raiders turn their focus to a competitive District 31-6A and a chance at back-to-back district titles.
It’s going to be a tight game every time we play in district,” Bocanegra said. “We have to be prepared to be able to match other team’s intensity. We didn’t do that the first half.”