WESLACO — Weslaco High’s Rae Medina, the lone senior on the team, dropped 16 while Drya Arredondo chipped in with 10, Tori Trevino also had 10 and Flash Magallanes scored eight as the Panthers defeated the defending District-32-6A champs Harlingen High Friday night 51-43 at Weslaco High.
Panthers head coach Griselda Fino said her team did what they needed to do Friday night, despite being relatively young, and also praised the ability of Medina for playing a key role in the win and being a leader of the program.
“She has had to raise my freshmen and sophomores, guide them,” Fino said. “She is the parent and the coach of this club. If that is not MVP material I do not know what is. She is outstanding.”
Medina embraces that role.
“I push them hard in practice, all season long, preseason and now coming into district I feel like they have enough respect for me to follow along and they have proven that. Last year my seniors led me to become the player I am. I just want to do the same.”
The Panthers pulled away late thanks to a 3-pointer by Medina and free throws by Sary Gonzalez, but it was a back-and-forth game between two of the Valley’s most consistent programs.
“We knew we were going to win,” Medina said. “We practiced all week long for this. We prepared ourselves for this. Honestly, we matched up well with them and did pretty good.”
Weslaco High built a 38-32 lead in the third quarter when guard Tori Trevino connected from deep, but the Cardinals responded at the buzzer to make it 38-34 and set up a tense finish heading into the fourth quarter.
Harlingen High’s Abigail Garcia finished with a team-high 15 points while Haiden Martinez and Amaris Martinez chipped in with seven each.
Nothing separated the Panthers and the Cardinals at the break. Both teams settled down defensively after having a high-scoring first quarter.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 6-0 lead thanks to a nice spinning finish by Martinez, but Weslaco High fired back. Medina, a senior, penetrated the Cardinals’ defense pretty routinely during the opening quarter. Medina found Magallanes in the corner, and her 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 19-16 lead going into the second quarter.
“Great way to start district, but it is just one game and we still have a lot to go,” Fino said.
Weslaco High returns to action against Los Fresnos at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Los Fresnos, and Harlingen High takes on Brownsville Hanna at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at home.
PHOTOS BY ANDREW CORDERO/Special to The Monitor
