The Harvest Christian Eagles punched their ticket to the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Class 2A regional quarterfinals, taking down Hallettsville Sacred Heart 65-60 on Tuesday at Harvest Christian in Edinburg.
Sophomores Ashley Gonzalez and Lexi Garcia combined for 50 of the Eagles’ 65 points, scoring 33 and 17, respectively. Senior Elizabeth Grahmann poured in a team-high 28 points for the Indians.
The Eagles jumped out to a 16-6 advantage during the first quarter, forcing the Indians into several turnovers with their press defense. During the second period, the Eagles erupted for 27 points, taking a 19-point advantage into the break.
After jumping out to a double-digit halftime advantage over the Indians, turnovers allowed Sacred Heart to claw back into the game, outscoring the Eagles during the third and fourth quarters.
Gonzalez helped secure the victory with timely free throws during the fourth, going 15-of-16 from the foul line.
“We had our hands full,” Harvest Christian head coach Jaime Gonzalez said. “They (Hallettsville) were a final four team last year. We knew whoever won this game is going to have a chance to go all the way. We still have a couple of rounds to go but we knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. We knew it was going to be a dog fight.”
The Eagles take on Allen Academy out of Bryan in the regional semifinals at a date, time and location to be determined.
