Forget the Alamo City

SAN ANTONIO --- Harlingen South got off to such a horrible start that only a miracle could have rescued the Lady Hawks against San Antonio Madison. None were forthcoming, however, and South fell and fell heavily to the Lady Mavericks, 72-51, on Friday night in the Class 5A Region IV girls basketball semifinals at the University of Texas at San Antonio Convocation Center. From the start, Madison, which will meet San Antonio Wagner in today's regional final for a chance to go to Austin and the state tournament, played the Lady Hawks' style of basketball better than the Lady Hawks did. Much better. "We came out so flat," said a stunned Dawn Engleman. "I thought we matched up well with them and, before the game, I felt confident and I thought the girls were confident. But once we hit the court, we were nervous." Madison (30-9) beat South's press with ease and created a ton of turnovers with its own defense. The Lady Mavericks were just quicker up and down the court than South. A lot quicker and that resulted in a number of easy baskets for the Lady Mavericks. "We were just able to get past their first line and that helped us get some lay-ups and easy shots," Madison coach Tracy Hastings said. "We like to run, that's our game." Monica Engleman paced Madison with 19 points, but had 17 in the first half as the Lady Mavericks galloped away from the Lady Hawks. Charlicia Harper had 11 of her 13 in the first half as Madison led 50-21 at the half. At times it seemed like Harper and Engleman were running an offense against garden furniture. Bianca Torre led South with 23 points, but had only three in the first quarter when South only scored 10 while Madison scored 29. The Lady Mavericks got off to such a quick start that South wasn?t even able to blink before it was in a huge hole. Harper had four points in a 10-0 run to start the game that put Madison in control early. South didn?t score until the 5:20 mark when Torre made a trey. But that just kick-started another Madison run and there wasn?t much hope for South. South?s defeat was eerily similar to the Lady Hawks? last trip to the regional semifinals when the they lost 79-52 to Converse Judson in 2006. "I'm really disappointed," said an emotional Dawn Engleman. "I feel sorry for the Valley, we?re not going to get any respect."