La Joya Palmview 51, Laredo Nixon 24
LA JOYA — La Joya Palmview and Laredo Nixon battled each other early, but the Lobos pulled away to pick up an emphatic 51-24 win in District 30-5A Friday afternoon.
The win moves the Lobos to 3-0 in District 30-5A, tied for first with Roma, and a win over a title contender.
“For us to secure this win right here, right now, is important for us to stay ahead early on in the season,” La Joya Palmview head coach Anisa Reyna said.
Reyna said the Mustangs were one of the best teams in the way of the Lobos from picking up the program’s first title. The Lobos brushed them aside Friday for now, but Reyna also said the trip to Laredo is rough sometimes.
La Joya Palmview are road tested having won a preseason tourney in Corpus Christi.
La Joya Palmview junior Miami Rojas capped off Friday’s game against Laredo Nixon with 1,000 career points. Rojas knocked down some jumpers to finish the game with 13 points.
“It was great, I get a lot of support from my team, my coaches, my family and friends. It is all for them,” Rojas said.
Lobos senior Jocelyn Rojas dropped 14 points, including a nasty step-back three at the buzzer of the third quarter. La Joya Palmview ended the quarter up by 21.
Laredo Nixon fought hard early in the third after going down 25-12 at the break. Mustangs guard Danica Robles led her team in scoring with 14 points.
Reyna said the Lobos broke the game open in the second quarter after a tough opening period.
“It was just a matter of passing the ball, playing defense and securing the ball in our hands before doing anything with it,” Reyna said.
Laredo Nixon was the more physical team early, but La Joya Palmview picked up buckets from Nicole Flores. The guard scored 11 points and fellow guard Destinee Garza contributed with seven points.
La Joya Palmview faces Mission Veterans at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday as the first round of District 30-5A continues on.
Brownsville Lopez 49, Harlingen South 48
HARLINGEN — Brownsville Lopez head coach Filiberto Reyna told his assistant if they lose this game it is because of him.
Moments earlier Reyna was hit with a technical foul because of running onto the court in protest of a call made by the referee on the other side of the court with his team only up by two in the final minutes. Harlingen South nailed the free throws, but could not take the lead with the extra possession.
Brownsville Lopez’s D’Arrah Howard was able to take the ball up court the next possession, drawing a foul and making one of her free throws to give the Lobos the 49-48 win over the Hawks, who was previously undefeated in District 32-5A, Saturday afternoon at Harlingen South.
“They just played their heart out today,” Reyna said. “I said in the beginning of the season it is about heart and will. They showed it today.”
Howard sent the Lobos into overtime with a 3-pointer with only five seconds left in the game. Howard was left open at the top of the key to tie the game at 41.
Reyna said they drew up the shot for Howard after noticing they were leaving her open on the play. Reyna said he trusted Howard to hit the shot.
“I felt confident in the shot,” Howard said. “I felt composed throughout the game and I think it helped me make the three.”
Howard said that confidence helped her with game-winning free throw as well. Howard finished with 23 points.
The Lobos had held the Hawks to only one point in the first quarter, but were only up 7-1 after the quarter because of turnovers and missed free throws. Harlingen South took over in the second to go up 21-12.
Brownsville Lopez clawed back in the game in the fourth quarter after being down by seven to start. Harlingen South’s Jiselle Montemayor led the Hawks in scoring with 17 points while Serena Cano had 11.
The Brownsville Lopez win sends Harlingen South back into a tie with Brownsville Veterans at 6-1 in District 32-5A while Brownsville Lopez and Mercedes are both 5-2.
