La Feria rallies to beat Mission, win Tommie Wiseman Championship

LA FERIA — With about 2:56 left in the game, it appeared that Mission was trying to get back in position to take the lead as the Lady Eagles trimmed the lead to two (33-31) and looked primed to take another Tommie Wiseman title home with them.

But the host La Feria Lionettes were not about to let the Lady Eagles celebrate on their home court or take their trophy home with them.

The Lionettes finished strong as they closed out the quarter going on a 9-3 run and were able to secure the tournament title with a 42-34 victory over Mission in the championship game of the 38th annual tourney.

"This is the best feeling in the world and it sure feels good to see my own girls win the trophy," said La Feria head coach Angel Martinez. "Three years ago these girls were sophomores and Mission beat them in this same situation. The girls had a bitter taste in their mouths and wanted to finish strong.

"The girls wanted it real bad and hopefully this win will propel us and get us fired up for district play."

Trailing 4-0 with 5:47 left in the first quarter, La Feria (11-4) started to get things rolling offensively as it went on a monstrous 17-2 run to take a 17-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Jennifer Exinia, the MVP of the tournament, and Desiree Serna were the catalysts during the run as both of them combined for 13 of the Lionettes 17 points in the quarter.

The second quarter belonged to Mission (12-4) as the Lady Eagles were able to get into an offensive rhythm and outscore La Feria 12-6, thus trimming the lead to 23-18 going into the half.

Along with their aggressive offensive play, the Lady Eagles applied tons of pressure defensively that caused the Lionettes to take ill-advised shots.

The Lady Eagles were able to win another quarter as they cut the lead to two (26-24) by once again outscoring La Feria 6-3 in the third.

Mission head coach Rene Garza said that he was proud that his team was able to make it to the championship game.

"I didn’t expect to even be in the championship game," said Garza. "As I said before the game, La Feria is an extremely tough team and played well. But we showed a lot of character at the end of the game and the girls played very hard.

"I am ecstatic to be in the championship game and am extremely proud of the girls."

In other action, La Joya defeated Edinburg Economedes 67-45 in the third-place game and Rio Hondo defeated Lyford 54-49 in the consolation game.

MERCEDES BEATS SAN PERLITA FOR PI TAPON CLASSIC TITLE

PORT ISABEL — For a team that’s still growing each day, this was a big step forward.

The Mercedes Tigers defeated a very talented San Perlita bunch in the Port Isabel Tarpon Classic title game on Saturday, 44-34, at Port Isabel High School.

It’s the Tigers’ fourth straight Tarpon Classic title and head coach Eric Steinbrunner said it’s a positive for his young program.

"It gave us a chance top grow up," Steinbrunner said. "We beat a very good team, it was a loud atmosphere…it was definitely a good win for us."

The Tigers defeated Rio Grande City in the semifinals. Edcouch-Elsa also participated in the tourney but Steinbrunner said there was no advantage to playing district foes in tournaments like these.

"A lot of coaches try not to show too much," he said.

Steinbrunner did see enough of tiny San Perlita.

The Trojans lost only their second game of the season. San Perlita is 13-2 on the season and its other loss came to La Feria last week in a close one.

"They’re extremely well coached and they’re a great team," Steinbrunner said. "We worked really hard for this win. They’re one heckuva team."