Lady Pirates earn share of district title

HIDALGO — The one-hour postponement to the start of the all-important La Feria-Hidalgo District 32-3A game only delayed the drama the teams are capable of.

During the first round of district games the fourth-ranked Lionettes got the best of the Lady Pirates, but on Friday — behind the strong post play of Victoria Gonzalez and Mariana Mascorro — it was No.5 Hidalgo that emerged victorious, knocking off La Feria 44-36 at Hidalgo.

Gonzalez, a junior, scored a game-high 19 points, and Mascorro, a senior, dominated the boards with 18 rebounds.

“Both teams always come out to play hard,” Gonzalez said. “Both teams are always very competitive and get after it. Sometimes it gets personal, but both teams always come out ready to play.”

The win moves Hidalgo into a first-place tie with La Feria. If each wins its respective games Tuesday, they will be crowned co-champs and will have to play a game to determine the top seed from district.

“I know we didn’t play the way we are capable of playing,” Lionettes coach Mary Wetergrove said. “We just were not in sync offensively (Friday). We were trying to play catch-up, and I think it caught up to us.”

Going into the fourth quarter the Lionettes had the momentum and looked as if they could escape Hidalgo with a win and the championship.

La Feria trailed 20-14 at the half, but guard Amie Rodriguez came out to play in the third period. She scored the Lionettes’ first six points of the second half.

La Feria later took a 24-23 lead on a Melanie Leija layup with 3:37 to go in the third. That was one of only three leads the Lionettes held during the game.

The Lady Pirates were outscored 13-9 in the third quarter, but still led 29-27 after three quarters.

“I told the team they had to step it up after the third quarter,” Lady Pirates coach Monica Rodriguez said. “If they wanted a piece of that district title, they would have to step it up.”

With 7:27 left to play, guard Angelica Zambrano’s layup tied the game at 29. It was all Lady Pirates from there, as Mascorro (10 points) re-established the lead, 31-29, with a layup with 6:35 to go.

Gonzalez scored four consecutive points to give the Lady Pirates a 35-29 cushion. The biggest blow was a length-of-the-court inbounds pass from Mascorro to Nashae Owens that Owens converted into a layup and a 37-29 lead with 4:33 left.

“I thought the pass was too long,” Mascorro said. “She threw me a long one against (Port Isabel) I could not get to, so she owed me one.”

La Feria was forced to foul, but Hidalgo was 9-for-11 from the charity stripe late to secure the win, including four out of six by Owens.

Peter Rasmussen covers girls basketball for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.