By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
LA FERIA — Senior Aaliyah Stewart is still getting her basketball legs under her after suffering a torn meniscus in her right knee that ended her volleyball season.
Stewart returned just in time for basketball season and delivered with a game-high 14 points as La Feria downed Edinburg Economedes 51-29 to kick off the 46th Annual Tommie Wiseman Tournament on Thursday in La Feria.
“This is how I wanted to start the tournament,” Stewart said. “It is a little difficult coming back from an injury. I have to be careful and I feel like I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. But today, I was able to put points on the board and help my team get the win.”
La Feria jumped out to a quick 17-8 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Six different Lionettes scored in the opening quarter and then relied on their bigs inside the paint in the second..
“Today, I needed to come out and be a three, I’m usually a four or a five because we needed some guard play,” Stewart said. “It is new to me but I knew I needed to step up. Normally, morning games don’t go well for us but today’s game we were able to play well and as one, so this is a great way to start the tournament.”
Reanne Fraga, who finished the game with eight points, gave her team a four-point swing and a 23-12 lead in the final minutes of the first half.
In the third quarter, La Feria turned up their defensive play with the press and managed to outscore the Lady Jaguars 9-3 and take a comfortable 38-19 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Defensively, we started causing some turnovers and once we were able to force the turnovers and score in transition, it opened things up for us,” La Feria coach Angel Martinez said. “(Economedes) had a good 2-3 zone and if you are not hitting from the outside, it is tough and they did a good job on controlling our bigs inside. Lucky for us, we were able to hit from the outside.”
Sharp shooter Maggie Cavazos hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with six points, while Grace Holmes also added six points and Kaitlyn Longoria scored seven.
In other tournament action, Sylvia Juarez led the way for Brownsville Pace with a game-high 16 points as the Lady Vikings outlasted Sharyland High 34-30 in their tournament opener.
After leading by three at the half, Juarez scored 13 second-half points to help push Pace to victory.
In another early game, Valley View’s Daniela Garza and Alexis Ortegon were on fire from 3-point range. The duo drilled a combined 11 3s as Garza scored a game-high 22 points and Oregon followed with 19 points as Valley View cruised past Brownsville Jubille 61-34.
For Jubilee, Faith Aldama scored six points and Julissa Garza scored a team-high 11 points.