SAN BENITO — After a tough loss this past weekend to the PSJA Lady Raiders, the San Benito Lady Greyhounds were certainly hungry for a win.
On the other hand, the Brownsville Pace Lady Vikings won last week and were hoping to continue their win streak.
Pace’s efforts came up short, however, as the Lady ’Hounds defended their home court by defeating the Lady Vikings 42-37 on Tuesday.
Although the Lady Vikings lost, they forced the Lady ’Hounds to commit several turnovers early on with a tenacious full-court press.
San Benito head coach Abel Moreno wanted his players to adjust to the pressure and knew the type of game his team was going to get into.
“We had seen them before and knew they were feisty, and that it may come down to the officiating,” Moreno said. “I felt we would still be all right due to the ball handlers we have and worked our way to a win.”
The Lady Vikings took control of the game in the third quarter by holding the Lady ’Hounds to just six points. San Benito had a lot of empty buckets that didn’t fall through and that led to a 33-27 deficit heading into the fourth.
Tension arose when Pace committed a technical foul that sent San Benito’s Mckayla Guerra to the line for crucial free throws. She tied the game at 35-35 but due to the costly foul the Lady ’Hounds were able to gain the lead at 37-35 and maintain possession of the ball.
San Benito was able to run the clock out with good ball management and seal the victory.
“I told the girls we needed to build momentum heading into the season. That it didn’t matter if we won by a lot, just to get a win and we performed pretty good in the face of adversity,” Moreno said.
San Benito’s Emilee Barraza led the team in scoring with 13 points followed by Arelene Lucero and Haley Lopez each with 8 points.
The Lady ’Hounds are still without some key players and will play in a tournament in Laredo this weekend before beginning the District 32-6A loop on Dec. 13 against Los Fresnos.
