(Courtesy photo/Hector Avila)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
The San Benito Lady Greyhounds lost their second consecutive District 32-6A game on Tuesday, this time against the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers, 52-34.
With the loss, San Benito falls to 1-2 in district play. Their lone victory was against Brownsville Hanna.
The Lady ‘Hounds lost last week to the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons by a closer margin (47-50). Veterans Memorial showed it is arguably one of the best district teams as the victory over the same Los Fresnos team came by a 57-36 score.
Since district play began against Hanna, San Benito had been without its top playmaker, Angelina Reyes, a key piece in the lineup, Lady ’Hound Head Basketball Coach Abel Moreno said.
Reyes looked good early in her game against Veterans Memorial, as the Lady ’Hounds led 6-2 at the 5:15 mark. The senior had a trey and basket for a 5-2 lead.
“We are kind of in a different space because we lost our most prolific scorer in Angelina Reyes,” Moreno said.
A Veterans Memorial trey tied the game in the first quarter, and with 2:39 showing on the clock, VM took the lead for good, 11-8.
The Lady ‘Hounds made errant passes that cost them to turnover offensive possessions as Veterans Memorial pressed defensively on both sides of the court. Veterans Memorial led 22-8 after a quarter, and at halftime, VM led 33-18.
San Benito’s leading scorers were Reyes, despite playing sparingly, and sophomore Hailey Davila, each with seven points. Junior Amanda Estrada and senior Kayla Rodriguez each contributed five points.
“The result of losing Angelina Reyes is that our younger girls had to grow up quicker, be in the spotlight faster, and our team has had to change and morph. They have done a wonderful job of doing that,” Moreno said. “However, there is a quicker learning curve in doing that, and so we struggle at times, and the face of the team is different. We still believe, as a coaching staff, that we have a team that can compete. We think Angelina Reyes overshadows many of our girls, unintentionally, because she is such an awesome basketball player, but now we get to see more out of younger girls, and they are doing their thing, so we are excited about that.”
San Benito’s next two games are away at Harlingen on Jan. 17, and Hanna on Jan. 21.
The Lady ‘Hounds are 19-10 this season.
On the boys’ side, the San Benito Greyhounds lost their District 32-6A opener to Brownsville Veterans Memorial at home, 53-42, but made the Chargers work for their victory until the final whistle blew.
Their 14-3 run in the fourth quarter got the ‘Hounds to within eight points with 55 seconds remaining in the contest. They purposely fouled Chargers players down the stretch, but their foes went 4-of-6 at the free-throw line as time also began to wind down.
San Benito had a rough start to its game as the team only scored five points in the opening quarter, and trailed 28-15 at halftime.
Leading scorers for San Benito were Peter Jackson (16 points, three treys), AB Rodriguez (11 points), and Ivan Hernandez (7 points).
The ‘Hounds were 7-of-17 from the free-throw line. Veterans Memorial went 12-of-19 from the line. The Chargers also had five three-pointers.
The ‘Hounds are 0-1 in district and will play at Harlingen on Friday, Jan. 17, and Brownsville Hanna Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Harlingen lost to the Los Fresnos Falcons the same night, 76-70. Harlingen fell to 1-1 in district. Los Fresnos is 2-0.
San Benito fell to 7-9 on the season with the loss.
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