DONNA — The Donna IDEA Titans and Lyford Bulldogs are the only sub-Class 4A girls basketball teams throughout the Rio Grande Valley to earn spots in statewide rankings this season.
But that’s where the similarities stop for these two District 31-3A foes, who met in one of the RGV’s most anticipated rematches of the season in the first boys or girls basketball game in the Rio Grande Valley to feature two state-ranked squads.
Donna IDEA, which entered as the 19th-ranked Class 3A team across the state in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association poll, sought a payback victory by attacking the paint early and often but could not manage to overcome the lights-out shooting of No. 23 Lyford.
Lyford guards Damaris Bermudez and Marley Perez put on an offensive clinic from behind the 3-point arc and combined to score 39 points as the Bulldogs downed the Titans 64-48 on Tuesday night and claimed the de facto District 31-3A championship in the process.
“We’ve been practicing really hard for this (opportunity) every day,” said Bermudez, who finished with 17 points and a team-high six assists. “We even practiced our (outside) shots earlier today, so it was nice to see us make a lot of them.”
“It was awesome,” said Perez, who tallied a game-high 22 points. “It feels really good, especially since this was such a big team win and we got everyone involved.”
In a contest that started at a frenetic pace with each team trying to break through their opponent’s full-court press defensively, Bermudez and Perez gradually helped steer the momentum in their team’s favor.
A back-and-forth first quarter favored the Titans in the early going, who used length-of-the-court lob passes to spring past the Bulldogs’ press and slice their way to the rim.
Although slowly and steadily, Lyford’s exemplary shooting night from deep gave the team a double-digit advantage heading into halftime.
Bermudez and Perez in particular seemingly could not miss from being the 3-point line.
When a Lyford layup attempt clanked off the rim and the put-back attempt would not fall either, one of the members of the Bulldogs’ backcourt duo inevitably got her hands on the ball and knocked down another trey.
Together Bermudez and Perez tallied a 7-of-11 shooting mark from deep, as Lyford shot a stellar 53.8% from behind the 3-point arc giving the team a decisive offensive advantage.
“It was pretty big for us (tonight). We practice that shot every day, so to be able to execute like that in a game is very awesome,” Perez said.
The Titans, however, played their way back into the game during stretches of the second half, cutting Lyford’s lead down to seven in both the third and fourth quarter, thanks to their tenacious defense and transition offense before the Bulldogs’ defense sealed the deal down the stretch.
“We practice that press defense every day. We were just trying to not foul,” Bermudez said. “We did (foul), but it’s OK because we still played really great as a team.”
“I think being able to press and get the traps we want and the steals we want was a good takeaway (tonight),” Perez said.
Donna IDEA ended the night shooting 43% from the field, but an 11-of-26 night from the free-throw line and the Bulldogs’ 18-point edge from deep were too much to overcome.
With the victory, Lyford improves to 17-4 overall on the season and 11-0 in district play, likely securing the 31-3A championship by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over the Titans with two district games remaining.
“This is my first district title with them and I know it’s (Bermudez’s) second, so it feels awesome (to do it together),” Perez said.
Donna IDEA drops to 16-5 overall and 14-2 in District 31-3A with the loss, the team’s second of the season to the Bulldogs, and will travel to take on Edinburg IDEA Quest at 6 p.m. Friday in its regular-season finale.
Lyford, meanwhile, will host Pharr IDEA at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and travel to face Pharr Vanguard in its final two district games of the season before beginning its playoff push.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
