By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Once Jordan Rudd set the tempo for the game, her Brownsville Veterans Memorial teammates followed the lead.
Rudd had a game-high 12 points, six rebounds and three steals despite battling the flu to help the Lady Chargers defeat the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons 40-29 in District 32-6A action on Friday at Brownsville Veterans.
Rudd scored eight points during the first half as Brownsville Veterans built an eight-point lead by the break.
“Jordanis pretty sick, but I give her credit, she pushed the ball and forced the tempo,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said.
Brownsville Veterans opened the game with a 9-1 run to help build an early nine-point lead. It would have stayed that way, but Los Fresnos guard Kelsi McDonough hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six points.
After Rudd opened the second quarter with a three-point play, Lynette Duran hit a 3-pointer and Dori Alcalde added a bucket to pull the Lady Falcons within four. But the Lady Chargers got a basket from Sarah Sandoval and a pair of free throws from Rudd to push the lead to eight.
Los Fresnos tried to be more selective on shots, especially during the first half.
“We weren’t being hesitant, we were being patient,” Los Fresnos coach Kim Edquist said. “I thought if we keep the ball in our hands more than they do, we might have a better percentage. We were trying to be patient on offense. Early in the game we took some rushed shots and that hurt us in the first quarter.”
After Duran opened the second half with another 3-pointer for the Lady Falcons, Brownsville Veterans went on a 7-0 run to push the lead to double digits. After Cristi Garza hit a free throw for Los Fresnos, Daniela Diaz scored two quick buckets to give the Lady Chargers the spark they needed and, more importantly, a 15-point lead.
“Daniela was out the last time we played (Los Fresnos),” Paz said. “Today she was able to give us an additional ball-handler and push the ball and get into the lane and hit a few runners. Daniela was being a playmaker, and she played great.”
The Lady Falcons didn’t go quietly, though. Los Fresnos went on a 9-2 run with baskets by Garza, Duran and a basket and a 3-pointer by McDonough to pull within five points during the fourth quarter.
Rudd hit a free throw and scored a basket off a steal to seal the win for Brownsville Veterans (24-8 overall, 11-2 in district).
Sandoval had four points and nine rebounds, and Maria Rios had nine rebounds and a pair of steals. Diaz finished with seven points and Lopez added six as the Lady Chargers’ bench outscored Los Fresnos’ 13-3.
“We had some openings, but we needed to hit those. We didn’t do it all the time today,” Edquist said. “They beat us early on some of those layups, and we didn’t transition very good on defense. I think we did better in the second half (on defense), but we didn’t get those shots in and sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
McDonough led the Lady Falcons with nine points and seven rebounds, Duran had eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and Joseline Caraveo added six points and 11 rebounds for Los Fresnos (12-18, 5-8).
Brownsville Veterans used a variety of presses on defense to disrupt the Los Fresnos offensive attack and allowed single-digit point totals for each quarter.
“Our defense was a whole lot better (than it was Tuesday against Harlingen High),” Paz said. “If we want to go long (into the playoffs) it’s our defense that has got to carry us, and we need to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
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.