HARLINGEN — For Harlingen South head coach Kelly Garrett and the Lady Hawks, it’s all about moving forward one game at a time.
The squad may be 8-2 in District 32-6A, however the Lady Hawks aren’t leaning on past victories to push them forward and certainly not letting past defeats hold them back.
While Tuesday’s contest at home against Brownsville Hanna may not have been as eventful or thrilling as their first overtime encounter, the Lady Hawks finished the game exactly the way they started — on fire in a lopsided 61-44 victory.
“I honestly think (the girls) were just ready to go on Christmas vacation in the first game,” said Garrett about the Lady Hawks’ 67-57 come-from-behind win over Hanna on Dec. 20. “But we talked about it before the game and they knew we had to come out with more energy this time.
“Our motto for every game is, ‘tomorrow we need to be 1-0, one game at a time.’”
The motto seems to be suiting the Lady Hawks well as the team is off to its best start in recent memory.
Tuesday’s win draws the Lady Hawks even with Harlingen High at 8-2, with Weslaco leading the league at 9-1.
For Harlingen South, Cameron Del Angel helped the team jump out to an 18-12 first-quarter lead. The junior was almost unstoppable, netting eight of her 16 points in the period.
“I think (Cameron) is the most athletic kid we have. She can outjump anybody,” said Garrett. “She might be a little raw in basketball, she is just the most athletic and she does the little things. She takes charges, gets rebounds and loves posting up. She’s that kid that can do it all for us.”
After the Lady Hawks took a 29-22 lead into the half, another one of South’s shining stars came out of the break and took over in the third period. After being silenced in the first two quarters, Karla Reyes erupted for 13 of her 15 points to help South open up a 22-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Other notable contributors for the Lady Hawks were Leah Noe with 10 points and Laura Ramirez with six points.
For Hanna, Mia Paz had a game-high 24 points and JackyDel La Rosa added eight.
Next up, the Lady Hawks take on the San Benito Lady Greyhounds at San Benito at 6 p.m. on Friday.
