BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
ROMA — PSJA North’s Cynthia Martinez played every minute of Tuesday’s Class 6A quarter regional round playoff game against the Laredo Alexander Lady Bulldogs at Roma High School.
A quick look at the senior shooting guard’s box score however, alludes otherwise. In 32 minutes of action, Martinez mustered a single make on 12 attempts, her lone field goal arriving when Alexander’s eventual 62-46 victory was already assured.
“I felt bad,” Martinez said of her shooting woes. “As a senior, I want to be out there helping my team, and I wasn’t doing that.”
It was an evening which found Martinez and the rest of the Lady Raiders out of character. A team designed to run the court, attack the basket and fire away from range, PSJA North looked flustered, winded and shot blanks from behind the arc.
“We seemed a little slow,” PSJA North coach Randy Bocanegra said. “We just seemed a little nervous.”
Tuesday’s loss signified the end of a history-making season for the Lady Raiders. The team clinched a share of its first district championship in District 31-6A, and advanced to the third round of the postseason, a feat which no other Valley team accomplished.
“I told the girls that this game does not define our season,” Bocanegra said. “We accomplished most of the goals we set for the team. This doesn’t take away anything. But we are disappointed because we’re competitors.”
Despite the lopsided loss, the Lady Raiders stuck around during the first half. Though undersized by Alexander’s lengthy guards and post Dannia Gonzalez, PSJA North never trailed by more than seven, and faced a 29-22 halftime deficit.
“It’s not like we weren’t getting open shots,” sophomore point guard Sarah Serrano said. “They just weren’t going in.”
Serrano, who scored 23 points during the team’s 49-48 area round victory over Laredo United, struggled for much of the evening, only attempting three shots before fouling out during the fourth quarter.
Though PSJA’s 3-point touch returned in the third quarter, during which the team sank four long-range bombs, they were plagued by turnovers, a reoccurring theme throughout the night.
“(Alexander’s) defense was so tough,” junior small forward Belle Palacios said. “We had a hard time controlling the ball and moving it around on the court.”
Palacios led the team in scoring with 15, but also led the turnover count with 9. During the third quarter, Palacios committed consecutive turnovers which led to breakaway layups for Alexander guard Mariana Avina. Palacios played the duration of the game despite suffering an injured back.
“I had a hard time boxing out tonight,” she said. “I couldn’t put any force on my back. I told Sarah that she had to pull double duty tonight.”
In the end, fatigue and unforced turnovers domed the Lady Raiders during the second half, in which they were outscored 32-24.
“We didn’t shower,” Serrano said of the team’s actions in the locker room after the game. “We said if we didn’t win, we wouldn’t shower. Everyone just got iced and people were crying.”
Though the team wore the stench of defeat on the bus home, Bocanegra was already thinking about the possibility of next year.
“We’re going to work all summer during the offeason and try to get back here.”