Lady Wildcats clamp down for clutch win
WESLACO — As the final seconds were winding down in Weslaco East’s 37-19 win over Roma, Lady Wildcats coach Chris Kromer was clapping, high-fiving and fist pumping with his players on the bench.
His enthusiasm was more than what the score indicated. First, Weslaco East (18-15, 10-5 District 32-4A) played its best game of the season against a playoff contender. Secondly, the game plan on defense was executed to near perfection. Finally, the victory against the Lady Gladiators (18-13, 11-4) put the Lady Wildcats one-game behind them for third place in district.
“It is the biggest win of the season,” Kromer said. “It’s been hard to celebrate a lot. We stepped up and played at a level like I thought we would play all season.”
Most of Weslaco East’s wins in district have been nail-bitters. And after the first half, it looked like it would be another close one with the Lady Wildcats taking a 13-8 halftime lead.
While Weslsaco East managed to have better luck in the second half, things didn’t change for the Lady Gladiators. The Lady Wildcats held Roma to two points for nearly the entire second half before the Lady Gladiators tacked on six in the final 2:32.
The Lady Wildcats have now held opponents to less than 20 points eight times this season.
“We’ve been progressing and getting better,” senior post Caroline Cuellar said. “We make sure to work as hard as we can and the results show it — 32 full minutes.”
Felicia Villanueva led Weslaco East with 12 points while Michelle Marquez chipped in nine points including a key bucket off a missed free throw as the first half expired. Cuellar finished the game with seven points.
“Our girls stepped up tonight,” said Kromer, who needs two more victories to reach 300 for his career.
