By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
LA FERIA, TX—The Rio Hondo Lady ’Cats once again lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Bishop Lady Badgers, 70-43, last Thursday night.
The Class 3A Division I outcome appeared decided late in the first half at La Feria High School as the Lady ’Cats failed to close a large deficit.
Rio Hondo points were at a premium in the third and fourth quarters, as the team scored 10 and 5 points, respectively.
On the flip side, Lady Badger baskets were falling, often on second- and third-chance rebounds, and they used their height to their advantage.
RHHS Head Coach Victor Sauceda alluded to this in a postgame interview, saying it was why his players relied more on their quickness.
It worked well early on; however, maintaining it for four quarters proved challenging against an equally talented Bishop team, Coach Sauceda admits.
Bishop advanced to the third round on Tuesday, defeating Crystal City 60-50. Bishop improved its record to 32-6.
Rio Hondo’s season ended at 28-2.
The Lady ’Cats lived and died by the three-point shot in their regional contest.
In the all-important opening quarter, RHHS went 4-of-9 on treys. Compare that to four shots from the field, with two baskets.
RHHS’s first five three-point attempts were open, and shifty sophomore Evan Ayala nailed three of them. She gave her team a couple of leads in the first quarter, one of which broke a tie for a 10-7 advantage.
Following a Bishop timeout with 3:36 showing, RHHS senior Abigail Atkinson got in the groove, too, scoring back-to-back treys for RHHS’s largest lead, 16-8, at the 2:26 mark.
In the second quarter, the Lady Badgers closed the gap on the Lady ’Cats, both teams part of a lead change four times.
RHHS sophomore Carlie Rodriguez connected on two of her team’s six treys. Unfortunately, Atkinson was the lone Lady ’Cats player to score from the field.
It was a bad time for RHHS to go ice cold, going 1-for-10. Bishop also got in one block.
The Lady ’Cats made a valiant effort to close Bishop’s gap in the third quarter. They got within 10 points twice. Rodriguez’s free throw at the 3:40 mark left the Lady ’Cats trailing by single digits, 46-37.
Bishop would then close the quarter on a run for a 55-38 lead.
The fourth quarter was merely a formality, a sign of good things to come for Bishop.
In the end, RHHS would earn points from three players, including Atkinson (17 points), Rodriguez (15 points), and Ayala (11 points).
Since the 2020-21 season, RHHS, as district champion, has advanced to the area round five times and lost, except in 2022-23, when the Lady ’Cats went four rounds. Last year, they lost to Bishop, 48-40.
The basketball seasons for the San Benito Greyhounds and the Rio Hondo Bobcats came to a close at the end of the regular season last Friday.
LOCAL BOYS’ TEAM SEASONS END
Neither squad advanced to the playoffs after their district finale.
San Benito went 0-8 in District 32-6A. The ‘Hounds’ last two games were against the Brownsville Hanna Eagles (lost 63-40) and the Fresnos Falcons (lost 92-58).
The top four teams advanced to the playoffs. Those squads were district champion Harlingen (8-0), Brownsville Hanna (5-3), Los Fresnos (5-3), and Brownsville Veterans Memorial (2-6).
In District 32-3A, Rio Hondo was on the outside looking in, having finished fifth among 10 teams.
The Bobcats finished 11-7 in district, but trailed IDEA Riverview, which finished fourth with a slightly better 12-7 mark.
Lyford and IDEA Sports Park tied for first with 16-2 records, followed by third-place Santa Rosa at 13-3.
RHHS finished strong in district, winning its final three games against IDEA Robindale (forfeit), IDEA Weslaco Pike (51-35), and IDEA College Prep (42-34).
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