By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
St. Joseph Academy used its defense to slow down Hanna and pull away.
The Lady Bloodhounds overcame a slow start and Valeria Tapia poured in a game-high 25 points to lead St. Joseph to a 58-47 win against Hanna on Tuesday at St. Joseph.
“I think we just got into a defensive rhythm,” St. Joseph coach Cynthia Martinez said. “I think we were a little shaky, we didn’t have our timing down. (Tapia) adjusted both offensively and defensively. … I felt like we did a great job of feeding off of her.”
Tapia had eight rebounds, eight assists and nine steals to lead the Lady Bloodhounds.
“In the past, we weren’t able to catch up to her,” Martinez said of her point guard. “Everyone else played around her. That’s been a struggle for us in the past. For us to get that timing from one quarter to the next (is big). In the past took us five or six games.”
St. Joseph started out on a 6-0 run before Hanna got going offensively. The Lady Golden Eagles then went on a 9-2 run to close the first quarter and lead 9-8.
The Lady Bloodhounds turned to Tapia and their defense during the second quarter. The point guard finished with 11 points in the first half and the St. Joseph defense helped overcome the early deficit as SJA outscored Hanna 24-11 in the quarter to take a 12-point lead at the break.
“That second quarter was big, that pressure got to us,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “We turned the ball over way too many times. You can’t turn the ball over that many times and beat a good team like St. Joseph.”
During the third quarter, Hanna started out on a 4-0 run and finished on an 8-3 run, but did not get much closer than the halftime deficit.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles got within seven points, but Tapia and the Lady Bloodhounds were too tough defensively and held Hanna’s offense in check as the Lady Eagles tried to make a comeback.
Mia Paz led Hanna with 16 points, but 11 were scored during the first half and she didn’t get going until late in the second half. Dahlia Reyes had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Eagles.
“They focused a little more on (Paz) in the second half, but I think she just got a little tired,” Gonzalez said. “She’s just a freshman and getting used to varsity competition. I’m proud of the way she played (Tuesday). I expect big things from her.”
Diana Garcia had 14 points — including four 3-pointers — and four steals, and Franny Huerta had seven points and seven rebounds for St. Joseph.
“We needed those, too,” Martinez said. “I love the way (Garcia’s) not afraid (to shoot).”
Gonzalez wasn’t too worried about the loss. He knows the Lady Golden Eagles can easily correct their mistakes.
“It’s early on,” he said. “We know we need to work on our passes. That’s the reason we lost, too many turnovers.
“Once we correct that, we’ll be all right.”
Martinez was very happy about the win and pleased with her team’s defensive effort.
“I loved it. I’m tired. I’m beat, so that’s always a good thing,” she said. “I’m an aggressive person, so defense is what I love. Defense is going to be an important part of our game this year. It’s going to be what makes us or breaks us.”
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.