By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
LOS FRESNOS — In a four-quarter, grind-it-out game, Los Fresnos played Weslaco High tough, but it wasn’t quite enough.
The Lady Falcons kept it close throughout the game, but the Lady Panthers used an advantage on the offensive glass and the free throw line to earn a 46-36 victory in a the District 32-6A girls basketball game Tuesday.
“I feel like our biggest thing (on the night) was turnovers,” Los Fresnos Rebecca Valdez coach said. “I think we pushed our defense this whole week and I think we tried to stop their great offense … I think we did a pretty good job. Yes we had our moments where we didn’t execute, but I’m proud of the girls tremendous effort on defense.”
Los Fresnos was outrebounded 28-21 and was 9 of 17 from the free throw line compared to Weslaco High (14 of 22) as it grabbed an early lead and never let up. The Lady Falcons finish 8-6 in District 32-6A and with the fourth seed in the district ahead of the postseason. The Lady Panthers (12-2) earn a share of the district title with the win.
“We didn’t come in here and perform very well,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “I’m proud that we played poorly, but we still managed to come out with a W. It’s a shared district title and no one likes to share, but I’m proud of the kids and their effort and the ability to finish on the right note.
“We’ve been putting in some extra work on free throws and hopefully it has paid off. We’re the type of ball club that likes to attack the basket, so we better be darn good at the free throw line.”
After Ari Gallardo opened the game with a layup for Los Fresnos, Weslaco High went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 edge. Britney Ruiz hit a layup for the Lady Falcons to stop the run, but that’s all they’d get and trailed 7-4 after one.
Gallardo started the second quarter with a bucket to get Los Fresnos within one, but the Lady Panthers went on a 6-0 run, including a layup by Emily Saenz and a putback by Illiyah Cantu to get some breathing room, 13-6. Gallardo hit a 3 to get within four, but Cantu had another putback on the other end. A layup by
Ruiz kept the deficit at four, but Weslaco High finished the quarter on a 7-3 advantage, most coming from the charity stripe to lead 22-14 at the break.
“In the second quarter, we finally understood what they were doing defensively and we adjusted,” Fino said. “We attacked the basket and their ability to look for each other worked in our favor. Defensively, it was just a matter of getting stops.”
In the third, Cantu had another putback to push the Lady Panthers lead to 10, but a layup by Ruiz and steal and a finish by Gallardo kept it close. After a jumper by Bree Peña put Weslaco High up by eight, the Lady Falcons’ Jovanna Adame had a steal and a bucket to keep the deficit at four. The Lady Panthers pushed it to seven by the end of the third.
In the final quarter, Los Fresnos got it within six, but couldn’t get any closer as Weslaco High kept hitting from the line and sealed the victory.
Peña led the Lady Panthers with 13 points, including nine after halftime, four rebounds and two steals. Cantu had 12 points and 11 boards and Saenz added 10 points and three rebounds for Weslaco High.
Despite wrapping up a share of the District 32-6A, Fino knows her team must play better with the postseason about to begin.
“A game like this puts into perspective the amount of work we need to do the rest of the week,” she said. “We need to go back to work to fix it.”
Gallardo finished with 17 points, including 10 in the first half, three rebounds and three steals to lead the way for the Lady Falcons. Ruiz added eight points, three rebounds and a pair of assists for Los Fresnos.
Despite the loss, Valdez said her team is ready for the postseason.
“Weslaco High is a great team, they’re a playoff team,” she said. “Our whole district was pretty tough, so we’re ready for playoffs because we’ve had pretty good competition all year long. We need to have a little more confidence, but I think we’re right there.
“I’m excited we’re in the playoffs. We’ve come a long way; my girls have so much heart and (play with) so much effort. Now they just need that confidence in them to push forward to the playoffs.”
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.