RIO GRANDE CITY — Since basketball season tipped off in South Texas several months ago, teams across the Rio Grande Valley have been trying to catch up to Rio Grande City.
For many opponents, slowing down the Rattlers has been tricky. The Rattlers have utilized their strength as one of the fastest lineups in the RGV to rewrite team history.
“It’s a big part of our identity,” Rio Grande City head coach Gus Valenciana said. “You’ve got to run the court. Our practices are designed where we’ll warm up with shooting and then spend the next 35-45 minutes on transition drills. We’re hardly ever touching the floor with the basketball.”
“Our speed really helps us run the court a lot. We’re pushing the ball any time we get the chance to, fastbreaks after fastbreaks, if we can,” sophomore point guard Britzeida Sanchez said. “That’s when we’re at our best. My main goal as a point guard is running the court whenever we have the ball in our hands.”
The Rattlers have flustered their opponents all season with their speed in starting the fastbreak and striking offensively in transition.
Steals and rebounds in the half court are quickly converted into buckets before opposing defenses have time to regroup and respond.
“Defensively, (our speed) allows us to always be alert of where the ball is and to keep our man in front. Offensively, we like to push the ball a lot and get easy layups,” junior guard Melanie Lopez said. “Our coach is always telling us to rebound and look up so every time our posts get a rebound, they’re looking down the court to find the open man and that is when we are at our best.”
Even Rio Grande City’s frontcourt possesses elite speed with forwards Emily Lopez, Angela Razo and Claudette Rodriguez leading the charge in transition after stuffing a shot or corralling a rebound on the defensive end.
That has had a profound effect on many of RGC’s foes this season, who routinely find themselves speeding up the tempo until they’re out of sync offensively, playing right into the Rattlers’ hands.
“When we start running, they start trying to force the issue,” Valenciana said. They’re trying to make passes that aren’t there and they’re taking quick shots. When we play at that fast pace and teams see that they’re behind, they feel like they have to catch up and it forces teams out of their comfort zone and their game plan.”
Rio Grande City’s elite team speed has turned the team into a formidable force in the RGV’s basketball scene, despite being one of the area’s youngest teams.
The Rattlers have only one senior on their roster this season, but that hasn’t slowed them down in their pursuit of one of the most historic seasons in program history.
RGC tallied an 18-2 record in regular-season play, knocking off several veteran squads from Los Fresnos and Valley View to Laredo Cigarroa and Roma along the way.
“We never really paid attention to how many seniors or juniors the other teams have,” said Sanchez. “We’re just there to win and to play our hearts out.”
Rio Grande City blitzed their opposition during a dominant run through District 30-5A.
The Rattlers won every district contest by double digits by keeping their foot on the gas and pushing the pace with a relentless fastbreak attack that earned them their first district championship in 35 years and the highest Texas Girls Coaches Association ranking (No. 17) of any 5A team in the RGV.
Now heading into the state playoffs, the team is determined to keep adding accomplishments to its historic run during a season that many thought would never be played amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s tough, if I’m being honest, for my teammates, coaches and our families,” Sanchez said. “We were always worried that we wouldn’t make it throughout the season because of the pandemic. Coach Valenciana always made sure he told us and still tells us to be safe, to wear our mask everywhere we go, and to stay home if possible.”
“We knew at the beginning of the season that it was going to be difficult and it was going to take many sacrifices, but we were all willing to go through with it. I’m thankful we even got to have a season during this crazy time,” junior forward Emily Lopez said. “Making history at RGC (by winning the district championship) was a huge goal of ours and I am really glad we fought till the end and accomplished it.”
The goal for the Rattlers from here is clear: continue to rewrite history in RGC.
Rio Grande City will face Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in the bi-district round of the 5A state playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Falfurrias as the program looks for its fourth postseason victory in its history.
If the Rattlers can check that box, they’ll have the opportunity to win the first area championship in school history and advance to the elusive third round where they have never been before.
“In the past, the goal was to always make the playoffs. But with this group, we’re past that stage,” Valenciana said. “Our goal is to be district champs and make it to at least the third round. … Here, that’s never been done. We’re hoping we can make that jump to the third round this year.”
“I’m glad we got to finish undefeated in district play, but the job isn’t finished yet,” Lopez said. “We are now preparing for the playoffs and the plan is to stay focused and see how far we can go from there.”
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
