Though Donna IDEA began competing in the University Interscholastic League at the start of this season, it didn’t take long for the Titans to secure their first playoff win in school history by downing Brownville IDEA Riverview 46-29 on Friday night in San Benito.
Donna IDEA pulled away thanks to a strong second-half performance fueled by aggressive defense and transition offense. Guard Abby Cortez tallied a team-high 14 points in the victory, while Layla Perez and Lydia Torres each added seven points.
“We came out sluggish in the beginning, but we’ve got to give credit to Riverview. They played hard tonight,” Donna IDEA head coach Andrew Sierra said. “Our girls came out running in the second half, pushing and driving to the bucket. They were playing aggressive defense and diving for loose balls. Now we got to prepare for Round 2.”
The Titans will face the Santa Gertrudis Lions, which defeated Mathis 47-26 on Thursday, in the area round of the Class 3A state playoffs Tuesday in Premont with a tip-off time that is still to be determined.
SHARYLAND PIONEER BEATS PACE TO GET BACK TO AREA ROUND
The Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks came into their bi-district round matchup in a familiar spot.
The Diamondbacks had just captured their third consecutive district championship and their second straight unbeaten run through District 31-5A.
Sharyland Pioneer picked up right where it left off, beating Brownsville Pace 48-31 on Friday night in Mission to punch its ticket to the area round for the second straight season.
Led by forward Jordan Bravo and center Carly Hornaday, the Diamondbacks jumped on Pace early holding their opponents to eight points in the opening 16 minutes of play.
Bravo led the team in scoring with 15 points, while Hornaday added nine to extend the Rio Grande Valley’s longest active winning streak in Class 5A to 16 games.
“All Glory to the good Lord for giving us the opportunity to play the game we love,” Sharyland Pioneer head coach Nicole Villarreal said. “In true Lady Diamondback fashion, we allowed our defense to set the tone and shared the ball on the offensive end. Going back to the area round is a blessing and it’s back to work tomorrow morning.”
The Diamondbacks will face Victoria West, which defeated Roma 49-27 on Friday, in the area round at a time and place still to be determined.
HARLINGEN ROLLS PAST EDINBURG VELA
The Harlingen High Cardinals, the eighth-ranked Class 6A team in the state according to the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association poll, rolled to a dominant 62-44 victory over Edinburg Vela to improve to 21-2 on the year.
Rose Zapata led the way for the Cardinals with 13 points, as Harlingen has now won 21 of its last 22 games and gone unbeaten against opponents from the Rio Grande Valley this season.
The Cardinals will face San Antonio Harlan, which beat Laredo Alexander 54-51 on Friday night, in the area round with a date and location still to be determined early next week.
STARR COUNTY’S FOUR PLAYOFF TEAMS BOW OUT IN BI-DISTRICT ROUND
All four Starr County teams that qualified for the postseason — Grulla, Rio Grande City, Roma and San Isidro — had their seasons come to an end Friday night in the bi-district round.
Rio Grande City, the 17th-ranked 5A team in the state per the TGCA, came the closest to advancing but fell in a defensive duel to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 31-22 in Falfurrias. The loss brings a historic season to a close for the Rattlers, who won the school’s first district championship in 35 years in late January.
The Grulla Gators, who played their Class 4A bi-district game right up the road in Falfurrias, fell to a state-ranked Robstown squad 69-28.
The Roma Gladiators struggled to keep up with Victoria West in a 49-27 loss in their Class 5A bi-district game in Corpus Christi, while the San Isidro Tigers narrowly fell to the Nueces Canyon Panthers 45-39 in their Class 1A bi-district matchup in Orange Grove.
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