Midway through the season and the girls District 32-6A race has already begun to take shape.
The defending champion Los Fresnos Lady Falcons (7-1) find themselves in first place with 21 points while the Harlingen Lady Cardinals (6-2) have come alive and are proving to be the dangerous team many expected them to be. The Lady Cards sit one point ahead of crosstown rival Harlingen South after picking up three points on Tuesday.
This year the Lady Cardinals have really turned the corner thanks, in large part, to a combination of talent and coaching. Harlingen head coach Debra Galvan has found a winning combination with Leah Leal creating the plays, and Kaylani Vasquez and Monique Rodriguez attacking the goal.
“Well we are 6-2 and it is definitely not easy,” said Galvan. “Our district is full of talented teams and there is no easy match. We focus on each game individually and try to prepare for it the best we can while we work on team passing and team building.
“The chemistry between us is there, especially between them (Leal, Vasquez, Rodriguez). Leah is the playmaker and does really well getting the ball to the forwards, and having two good forward options gives us depth.”
The Lady Cardinals are at BrownsvilleRivera on Friday.
Meanwhile, after being in first place for the start of the season, Harlingen South (5-3) has dropped to third place with 17 points. The Lady Hawks dropped their past two games and look to this Friday’s home game against Los Fresnos to keep their title hopes alive.
“I think we’ve been playing well, but this district is tough,” said Harlingen South head coach Omar Pedroza. “I think within the span of one week you can be in first then you can drop to third place. If we can beat Los Fresnos on Friday then we’ll be in good shape.
“Right now between Harlingen, Los Fresnos and us, it is just a matter of losing one game and you can be in first or you could be in third.”
While South has struggled, it isn’t due to the lack of talent. South’s combination of Alise Garza, Mellory Grannum and Klarissa Gonzalez have kept the Lady Hawks in every contest.
Rivera (5-3, 13 points), Hanna (3-5, 11 points), San Benito (3-5, 8 points), Weslaco High (2-6, 5 points) and Weslaco East (1-7, 3 points) follow in the standings.
