Girls basketball notebook: Sharyland braces for Harlingen High

Sharyland hopes the momentum it built from a playoff victory over Laredo Nixon on Monday will continue on Friday when the Lady Rattlers play host to District 31-5A champion Harlingen High in a Class 5A area playoff.

The Lady Rattlers (23-11), who finished the regular season No. 10 in Valley Freedom Newspapers’ area rankings, put together a solid game on Monday until the final moments when turnovers nearly cost them. Sharyland escaped with a 45-43 victory when Nixon had a 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounce off the rim. That doesn’t concern Sharyland coach Dale Whitaker, whose team finished second to McAllen Rowe in 30-5A.

“We are ready for the challenge,” Whitaker said. “I think our team is peaking at the right time.”

Second-ranked Harlingen High (31-4), which won its first district championship since 2004, came away with a tougher-than-expected victory over Brownsville Rivera (66-44) on Monday. Whitaker said his team must find a way to deal with the Lady Cardinals’ pressure.

“Their speed, their quickness and their press,” Whitaker said, listing Harlingen High’s strengths. “That’s their trademark. That’s their team.”

Although the Lady Cardinals present a huge challenge for Sharyland, Whitaker said his program’s playoff history and the fact his team is playing at home will be a plus.

“This is the 13th or 14th year that we’ve made the playoffs,” Whitaker said. “Our kids know what it’s like to be in this round. … It’s exciting to be able to host another game, especially when you have seniors who thought they had already played their final home game.”

EQUAL PLAY

Los Fresnos coach Kim Edquist said it’s difficult to find a superstar on her team.  She certainly can’t pick one out based on her team’s statistics. Chanel Ebanks-Texada leads the team with an 11.4 average, followed by Karla Burnias (9.4), Vanessa Betancourt (9.1) and Ivanna Mendoza (9.0).

“We were laughing about that,” Edquist said. “Our starting lineup is so even across the board, there’s not one kids that better than the other. It’s balanced.”

On Monday, it was Betancourt’s time to shine. She scored 22 points in Los Fresnos’ 56-30 victory over Harlingen South in a Class 5A bi-district playoff. Hayley Weaver, who averages 6.4 points, scored 15. Los Fresnos (31-4) next plays Del Rio in the area round on Friday at Texas A&M-International in Laredo.

Edquist said attaining that type of balance isn’t easy, and it requires one much-needed variable.

“They are all unselfish, it’s really hard to describe,” Edquist said. “They are all such great kids. They just want to win for each other, and you don’t find too many that want to do that.”

YOUNG GUNS

Rio Hondo has made it to the Class 3A area round despite having a fairly young team. In Monday’s 38-32 victory over Raymondville in bi-district, Rio Hondo started three sophomores, a freshman and a junior. Rio Hondo (23-9) has also advanced this far with a team that lacks height.

“We are really athletic and really fast,” Rio Hondo coach Tony Jaramillo said. “Our quickness has helped us this year.” Although Rio Hondo is young, it did return seven from last season’s district championship team. Rio Hondo finished third in 32-3A behind La Feria and Zapata.

  Jaramillo said the guards hold a majority of the experience and he tries to utilize them as much as possible. Junior Ashley Canas, juniors Natalie Jaramillo and Jana Jaramillo and senior Belinda Orozco are the team’s main guards. Ashley is the coach’s daughter and Jana is his niece.

“We knew our guards were going to keep us going until our posts started to catch up,” Jaramillo said.

Rio Hondo faces Goliad, ranked No. 20 in Class 3A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, on Friday at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

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