Brownsville IDEA Frontier loses in area round

The Brownsville IDEA Frontier Lady Chargers saw their historic season come to an end Thursday in the area round of the UIL Class 3A state playoffs.

Frontier lost to Aransas Pass 55-26 in Bishop in its first trip to Round 2 in program history. The loss closes the door on a season to remember for the Lady Chargers, one that saw an impressive senior class lead the team to its first District 32-3A championship and first playoff win.

“This was one of the toughest seasons I’ve coached through,” Frontier coach Victor Leija said. “I’m really proud of them for managing all the situations. They still found a way to put the game they love in their daily itinerary, and I’m really thankful that they consider basketball a priority. That shows their character and how much they care about the team.

“(The seniors) did a phenomenal job,” he added. “I told them, ‘You’ve gone through adversity, through little situations other schools, bigger programs, don’t go through. All these challenges, you’re going to use them for the rest of your life.’ They had to work to get where they are now. We started off as a little team to now being a dangerous team. I just thank them for all their efforts and I wish them nothing but the best, and I know they’re going to be productive citizens.”

Leija credited his squad for fighting to the end against a tough Aransas Pass team. The Lady Panthers used a challenging press to try and stymie the Lady Chargers, but Leija said senior shooting guard Sheyla Cosme was effective getting through the pressure to set up Frontier’s offense. Senior post Alma Medellin was another player who stood out for Leija with her solid play in the paint.

Brownsville IDEA Frontier senior post Alma Medellin (12) dribbles the ball after recording a rebound during a bi-district game in Brownsville against IDEA Pharr on Feb. 11. Medellin scored six points and had several blocks in Thursday’s area round loss to Aransas Pass in Bishop. By Claire Cruz, The Brownsville Herald

“We knew they were going to press us from the start,” Leija said. “Sheyla did a phenomenal job against the press. Sometimes she took matters into her own hands and got through the press, and teamwork was great. Without everybody being in their spots, you can’t break the press against a good team like Aransas Pass. She was spreading the ball out. Alma did a great job. She was getting rebounds, blocks. I think she had, like, five or six blocks against a good post player.”

Frontier cut into the lead with a 10-point fourth quarter, its best production of the game. Marissa Gonzales scored four of her team-high seven points in the final frame. Cosme and Medellin both finished with six.

“Give credit to Aransas Pass, they’re a phenomenal team,” Leija said. “The game was going back and forth for a little bit, but they started shooting 3s on us. It’s just the little things at the end weren’t there, the extra pass, and we couldn’t capitalize scoring. We weren’t scoring, and they were hitting NBA 3s and that’s hard to stop. The score doesn’t justify how the game went. The girls played really well, they were very competitive.”