Top-ranked Lady Hawks prevail

McALLEN -- It was a day Harlingen South coach Dawn Engleman was looking forward to.

For the first time this season the top-ranked Lady Hawks sported a complete team. They were missing five players that also compete on the South volleyball team, which played its final match of the season last Friday.

It was also the kind of day Engleman expected.

South looked out of sync at times against a feisty McAllen Rowe team but managed to walk away with a 46-30 victory Tuesday at Rowe.

"It was obvious," Engleman said about her team playing together for the first time this season. "I don't think our chemistry was always there tonight. I'm used to it because it happens every year. We have a lot of work to do."

Despite their shooting and turnover woes, the Lady Hawks (3-0) were just glad to be as one. Engleman said she was pleased with the camaraderie her team showed Tuesday.

"I felt really good to have everyone out there," Lady Hawks senior captain Meg Shed said. "We had only one practice with every one. It was good to be out there and know that if you mess up, someone has your back."

Shed hit a layup with time running out in the second quarter to give South a 30-14 lead at halftime. South outscored Rowe 19-11 in the second quarter and looked as if it was going to run away with the game.

Behind the play of sophomore forward Brittanie Best, however, the Lady Warriors did not go away quietly. A Best rebound and put back brought the home team to within 32-23 with 2:37 left in the third quarter. Best led all scorers with 15.

But the Lady Hawks padded their cushion with a 6-3 run to end the third frame, ending on a steal and layup by senior Bianca Torre (12 points) and a 38-26 edge.

"We are still very young," Warriors coach Raul Vega said. "It took us some time to adjust to their defense. They play an aggressive defense that we weren't used to."

The Lady Warriors could not get the margin below 12 the rest of the rest of the way, scoring only 4 points in the final frame.
A positive for the Lady Hawks was that 11 different players scored Tuesday.

"There is a lot we have to work on and our chemistry just isn't there," Engleman said. "But we will get there."

Peter Rasmussen covers high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448 or via e-mail at prasmussen@themonitor.com.