Mission stays alive in 30-5A girls playoff race

MISSION — Mission High is still alive.

Riding a wave of momentum it built from its stunning upset over McAllen High on Tuesday, the Lady Eagles pulled off another surprise with a 40-39 victory over La Joya on Friday. The victory pulled Mission into a tie with La Joya for the fourth and final playoff spot from District 30-5A. Both are now 8-5 in district.

“We are happy to still be in the playoff hunt,” Mission coach Rene Garza said. “We feel fortunate and blessed to be in this position.”

The Lady Coyotes could have secured a playoff berth with a victory. Instead, they’ll have to defeat McHi and hope that Mission loses to Sharyland on Tuesday, the final night of the regular season. McHi is in third place at 9-4 after its victory over Donna on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs could have made the playoffs with a La Joya victory, too.

“We had to win this, and we let it slip through our fingers,” La Joya coach Dan Morales said.

Carolee Lopez provided the difference for the Lady Eagles (19-9 overall) when she made 1 of 2 free throws with 37 seconds remaining. Lopez was fouled when she snagged her 10th rebound following a miss on Alejandra Cedillo’s driving layup down the lane.

The Lady Coyotes missed two subsequent scoring chances after that, and Mission secured the win.

“This was a big win for us,” Cedillo said. “We knew we had to win this game if we wanted to make the playoffs.”

La Joya missed a lot of 3-pointers — a staple in its offense — and that prevented the Lady Coyotes from building on the lead they enjoyed for most of the first three quarters.

Mission broke the Lady Coyotes’ press with ease and that led to easy layups. When the Lady Eagles weren’t in transition, they slowed the pace, moved around the basketball and tried to create attacking lanes.

Cedillo finished with 13 points. Lopez had nine points. Ruth Ruiz had 13 points to lead Mission. Cedillo and Lopez each had 10 rebounds. Mission held a 36-28 rebounding advantage, which was a factor as well.

“We controlled the tempo, and we were able to break their press,” Garza said. “The girls did a great job of playing with a lot of discipline.”

Elva Hinojosa had 12 points and 13 rebounds for La Joya.

The Lady Coyotes led 28-23 with 1:30 left in the third quarter, which turned out to be their biggest lead, but Cedillo tied it heading into the fourth with a 3-pointer and a field goal.

The Lady Eagles opened a 36-33 lead at the 4:01 mark following a layup by Lopez. Leyla Platas tied it with a 3-pointer, which was only one of two La Joya made. Hinojosa tied the game at 39 with a pair of free throws with 2:14 remaining. La Joya missed a pair of free throws at the 1:45 mark.

“They made more shots than we did,” Morales said. “That was about it.”

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