BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — Members of the PSJA North girls basketball team ran through pregame drills on their home court Tuesday night as Beyonce’s, “Flawless” blared over the P.A. system. The soundtrack proved fitting and served as an apt description of the Lady Raider’s offensive performance in a 65-38 win over Edinburg Economedes.
With first place in District 31-6A on the line, PSJA North seized control of the game from the get-go, taking a 21-3 first quarter lead behind the sharp-shooting of senior guard Cynthia Martinez, who scored 9 points in the early going on a trio of 3-point bombs.
“I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the big lead, and I thought that was good,” Martinez said. “We’ve been getting off to a slow start lately.”
Martinez scored a game-high 16 points in addition to 3 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist.
Despite mounting a sizable lead, the Lady Raiders (21-3, 4-0) didn’t let up. The team wracked up 11 buckets from downtown while the Lady Jaguars (13-9, 2-1) went scoreless from 3-point range.
“They have a lot of threats. They’re a tough team to stop,” Economedes coach Marina Campos said. “We tried several different defenses, and when (North has) five different girls who can shoot the ball, it’s hard to defend. We were just trying to come in here and steal one.”
PSJA converted 24 of their 55 attempts and shot 44 percent from the floor. The torrent of jump shots pleased North coach Randy Bocanegra, who prefers to keep his confidence tepid before games.
“We came out earlier for shootaround and we shot really well,” Bocanegra said. “But with our expectations, we always feel like we (are not) shooting that good. But boy, we came out firing. There’s nothing like shooting at home.”
Where the Lady Raider’s offense flourished, so did their defense. North amassed 16 steals to Econ’s 4 and stifled Silvia Perez, the Lady Jaguar’s inside presence. Though Perez finished with 15 points and 8 boards, she missed her first five shots and scored one point in the first quarter on a free throw attempt.
“They took us out of our game a little bit,” Campos said. “We tried to go to (Silvia) early on, there was a lot of contact. Our outside shots weren’t falling either. You’re just going to have those games, I guess.”
Defensive duties regarding Perez fell to North’s junior forward Belle Palacios.
“I was really nervous, because they have a really good post,” said. “I was proud of myself because I boxed out and I did my job.”
Palacios nearly finished with a double-double, scoring 9 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Bell’s older sister Lisa, a senior, finished with 14 points.
“Coach says just because we beat Weslaco doesn’t mean we should let up,” Lisa said. “Every game is hard because, since we beat Weslaco, everyone wants to beat us.”
In a district where every game carries a playoff-like atmosphere, Bocanegra preaches a mantra of patience to his team, and believes the wins will take care of themselves.
“There’s a quote that the boys (basketball team) have in the locker room that says, ‘Work hard in silence, let the success make the noise.’” Bocanegra said. “I tell the girls that we just have to play every game like it’s the last.”