McALLEN — The Donna High Bravettes’ season came to an end last year during the bi-district playoffs, falling to the McAllen Memorial Mustangs on their home court.
The loss stayed with the Bravettes going into the new season, creating a sense of unfinished business in their minds.
The Bravettes received their chance of redemption during the bi-district playoffs this season, drawing a rematch with the Mustangs on the road.
Led by their senior point guard Ivette Valladares, the Bravettes avenged their first-round playoff exit from last season, cruising to a crushing 61-42 victory over the Mustangs on Tuesday at McAllen Memorial.
“Our thoughts were that we wanted them to have the feeling we had,” Donna High head coach Lori Pedroza said. “We wanted to celebrate and get that gold ball. These seniors are great leaders and they wanted it.”
Valladares finished with a game-high 17 points. Jones added 12 points, while senior Yzella Perez chipped in nine points.
McAllen Memorial freshman Madison Borjas led her team with nine points. Senior Karina Garza added eight points.
The Mustangs season comes to an end, finishing 21-51 overall. Meanwhile, the Bravettes prepare for a matchup against the Corpus Christi Veterans Eagles during the Region IV-5A area round, with the date, time and location to be determined.
Up 13 at the break, the Bravettes opened the third quarter looking to put the nail in the coffin. Valladares took control of the contest, scoring Donna High’s final five points of the quarter.
Valladares continued to establish her dominance during the opening minutes of the fourth, scoring the first five points for the Bravettes, including an and-one finish to give Donna High a commanding 51-26 lead.
“Ivette is a leader and a pusher,” Pedroza said. “She’s going to lead the team up and down. She’s one of the many girls on this team. We are a family but she’s the one that leads the way.”
The Bravettes controlled the tempo of the game from the opening period, setting the tone with a 17-3 first quarter, which featured seven Mustangs’ turnovers.
The Bravettes made the Mustangs pay for their mistakes, running up and down the court for easy baskets, led by senior forward Emily Jones’ eight first-quarter points.
“I think the first quarter is what fired us up,” Pedroza said. “We came out here and we were hot. Our defense was really on. We were on both ends of the court. Like I told the girls, we had to play 32 minutes of Bravettes basketball. … Thankfully we were able to pick it up and we played 32 minutes and that got us into the second round.”
