Aleman, PSJA North roll past Edinburg North

PHARR — When things are going good, they are going good. When you are PSJA North guard Cassie Aleman, and your team is holding a commanding 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, it’s OK to spot up from 23 feet and let a shot fly.

Things were definitely going the Lady Raiders’ way and Aleman’s long-range three swished through to put an exclamation point on the Lady Raiders’ 70-42 victory over Edinburg North on Tuesday night.

“I didn’t see it was that far,” Aleman said. “Once we have that open three, we have to shoot the ball.”

PSJA North (25-7 overall, 10-2 District 31-5A) solidified at least a share of second place in district, and the Lady Raiders clinched the second seed in the upcoming playoffs, which will be their first postseason journey in program history.

“We wanted to finish second because we’ve never had a team that finished that close,” PSJA North coach Randy Bocanegra said. “We’re excited. Our chemistry is good, and we are peaking at the right time.”

Aleman finished with a game-high 27 points. She had three 3-pointers. Aleman nailed another three from about 21 feet in the final stages of the game, too. The Lady Raiders finished with 11 3-pointers total. Kirsten Sifuentes had three, Brenda Borrego two, Bry Cuellar two, and Ileen Torres one.

“We needed that second spot in the playoffs,” Aleman said. “We’ve never made the playoffs before, so getting that second seed is a big deal to us. It was definitely motivation.”

Borrego finished with 16 points. Sifuentes had 14 points. Aleman and Ileen Torres led the Lady Raiders in rebounds with six apiece.

Things didn’t come that easily for PSJA North in the beginning. Edinburg North (18-13, 8-4) trailed by just 12-10 after the first quarter. The Lady Cougars took a 15-10 lead after Vicky Peña made a 3-pointer and then turned a steal into a layup in the first 50 seconds of the second quarter. The Lady Cougars didn’t score again until the 1:39 mark of the period. During that time, PSJA North went on a 21-0 run that was highlighted with six 3-pointers as part of a 26-point second quarter, and the Lady Raiders took a 38-18 halftime lead.

“We were a little anxious in the beginning,” Bocanegra said. “We were in a hurry. I told the girls to relax. Find their spots and be accurate when they are passing the ball. I think we did a better job in that short stretch when we made our run, and we just shot well. How are you going to lose when you are shooting that well?”

The Lady Cougars never threatened again. The closest they got was 18 points in the fourth when Peña opened the quarter with a three and a field goal that made the score, 49-31. Aleman followed with her 23-footer that triggered an 11-5 run and ended Edinburg North’s mild threat.

Peña finished with 22 points for the Lady Cougars, who lost for the second-straight time. Peña also had seven rebounds. Deissy Sauceda had a game-high nine rebounds for Edinburg North.

David Hinojosa covers girls high school basketball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com