SAN BENITO — Weslaco High’s Rae Medina scored 22 points, Flash Magallanes finished with 15 and Drya Arredondo chipped in with 11 to help propel the Panthers over San Benito 56-44 on Friday night at San Benito High School.
The win moves the Panthers into first place in District 32-6A at 5-0. The Greyhounds fall to second place with a 4-1 record.
The Panthers built a double-digit lead in the second half thanks to intense defense and important buckets from Magallanes, Medina and Arredondo after going down early.
Weslaco High head coach Griselda Fino said the shots were clutch, but singled out Medina for being able to play tonight while having the flu. Medina said she felt good-to-go during the day, but once she showed up to the gym tonight she started feeling dizzy.
“She is just a warrior,” Fino said. “Like I have said before, she is our only senior on the team and she just gives it everything she has. And Flash hit some big shots today too. Those are things we work on at practice and things we keep drilling.
“We are super small, the world’s smallest team, but we can play inside and outside – we just have to find the right combination.”
Medina scored seven of her 22 points in the fourth quarter. The senior point guard finished a reverse layup with contact after grabbing an offensive rebound. Medina knocked down the free-throw to put the Panthers back up 10 after Greyhounds junior guard Angie Reyes cut the lead to seven the previous possession with a 3-pointer.
“I was getting face guarded and we were kind of everywhere, I needed to do something,” Medina said. “I knew I needed to go in there, rebound an go back up. We work hard in the weight room and I wanted to show it off.”
Reyes led the Greyhounds in scoring with 14 points, and senior Jakeida Ibarra pitched in with 10.
The Greyhounds and Panthers went back and forth during the third quarter, but it was Weslaco High that threw the final punch when Victoria Trevino drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give her team a 41-32 lead.
Weslaco High did not grab a lead until late in the second quarter after a slow start. The Panthers ramped up the defensive intensity, forcing turnovers and draining 3-pointers. Magallanes scored 11 points for the Panthers, including three 3-pointers as they went on a 18-5 run to close out the half up 26-20.
San Benito started strong with nice shot selection to build an early 9-3 lead and carried that momentum into the second quarter, when they went up 15-8.
The second round for District 32-6A begins Tuesday with Weslaco High on the road against Harlingen High at 6 p.m. San Benito is at home to Brownsville Hanna at 6 p.m., and Brownsville Rivera hosts Los Fresnos at 6 p.m. as well.
Fino said Weslaco High is taking it one game at a time.
“Things do not get easier, we are in the toughest district. San Benito, Los Fresnos, Rivera and Harlingen coming up – they are all tough – we are all really tough teams so it is a matter of bring it every single night,” Fino said.
HARLINGEN HIGH 66, LOS FRESNOS 30
Harlingen High moved into third place in District 32-6A with the 36-point win over Los Fresnos at Harlingen High.
The Cardinals hit seven 3-pointers, five in the first quarter as they jumped out to a first quarter double-digit lead. Harlingen High’s Abigail Garcia finished with a game-high 17 points.
Harlingen High’s Sarah Sanusi and Amaris Martinez finished with 11 points each. Los Fresnos’ Shiloh Jones had a team-high 12 points and Nadali Lozano scored 11.
DISTRICT 31-6A
The top four teams in District 31-6A was in action Friday night. Edinburg High defeated PSJA High 80-29 in a matchup between first and fourth.
The Bobcats have outscored their district opponents 402-154 with a 5-0 record after the first round of play. Edinburg High is on pace to win the district with two games to spare.
PSJA High is now 2-3 in district.
MISSION HIGH 52, LA JOYA HIGH 34
Mission High is now in second place in District 31-6A and on a four-game win streak. The Coyotes and the Eagles came into the night tied at 3-1.
Mission High beat PSJA High on Monday 53-38 and La Joya High beat Edinburg Economedes 41-21 to set up the second-place meeting at La Joya Friday night.
Eagles senior center Kaitlyn Richardson led the game in scoring with 11 points. The Coyotes were led by Cynthia Longoria with nine points.
The Coyotes are now in third at 3-2, but could move back into a tie with Mission High on Tuesday because the Eagles face the Bobcats at 6 p.m. at home. La Joya High takes on Edinburg North at 6 p.m. at North.
La Joya High only beat Edinburg North 37-29 in the first round.
TILDEN McMULLEN 44, SAN PERLITA 29
San Perlita trailed 12-11 early in the second quarter, but Tilden McMullen slowly pulled away to come out with a 15-point victory to move to 6-0 in District 31-1A.
Trojans head coach Marco Mungia said even though his team came up short he feels it was a moral victory because of how well his team competed and stuck with one of the best Class 1A teams in the region.
“I thought we played well despite some of our mistakes and so on,” Mungia said. “We are going to keep going and win out.”
Mungia said San Perlita’s focus shifts on second place after falling to 3-3. The Trojans lost to San Isidro in a close game on Wednesday that sets up a possible battle for second when two teams meet again in February – depending on how San Isidro fares against Tilden in the second meeting.
San Isidro lost to Tilden 42-38 early in the season.
San Perlita’s Summer Terry led the Trojans in scoring with 13 points. Tilden’s Camie Taylor had a game-high 19 points.
