McALLEN — The McAllen Rowe Warriors advanced to the second round of the postseason last season. Thensophomore Evelyn Valero missed the Warriors’ area round matchup, however, sidelined with a concussion.
On Tuesday, Valero helped her team punch their ticket to the second round once again, scoring a game-high 14 points to lead the Warriors past Mercedes 60-23 during a Region IV-5A bi-district contest at the McAllen Rowe gym.
“I’m really excited because last year I didn’t get to play,” Valero said. “This is going to be my first time playing in the second round. It’s exciting. Any game can turn around but when we come out strong, I know we’re going to put up a good performance. I liked how we did tonight.”
While Valero is headed for her first appearance in the second round, McAllen Rowe freshman Alyssa Cantu made her playoff debut Tuesday.
Cantu wasted no time getting on the board, netting her first playoff points on a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 by the Warriors to open the game.
After knocking down another 3-pointer during the second, Cantu got comfortable after the break, going on a 5-0 run of her own to close out the third. She put the exclamation mark on her debut with an acrobatic and-one bucket during the fourth to finish with 11 points.
“I knew she was going to come out ready,” McAllen Rowe head coach Alex Robles said. “She’s a lot more mature than people think for her age, especially being a freshman. When she hit that first three, I knew she was going to be settled in pretty well. … Overall, seeing her and her preparation, I knew she was going to be ready to go.”
Valero set the tone for the game during the opening period, scoring seven of her 14 points during the first. Senior Kayla Menchaca chipped in a pair of shots from beyond the arc to help spark a 20-3 opening period for the Warriors.
Defensively, the Warriors stifled the Tigers’ offense, forcing them into turnover after turnover, while holding them to only one basket during the first and third quarters.
“It’s a mature group for being so young,” Robles said. “Everything we told them during practice, you saw it here today especially the way they started. I’m just proud of the way they came out and executed the gameplan almost to perfection.”
The Warriors now await their area round opponent, taking on the winner between Laredo Cigarroa and Corpus Christi Carroll at a date, time and location to be determined.
