Harlingen South secures playoff berth in 31-5A

EDINBURG — Harlingen South, playing with confidence that belied its youth, overcame foul trouble and rode a big fourth-quarter run to defeat Edinburg High, 53-48, to clinch the fourth and final playoff berth in District 31-5A on Tuesday, the last day of the regular season.

With both teams tied for fourth place in 31-5A, the contest was essentially a playoff game. The winner qualified for the playoffs and the loser’s season ended.

The Lady Hawks (19-16 overall, 8-6 district) stayed in the district race on Friday with a come-from-behind 57-54 victory over Edinburg North, which finished third in 31-5A. That set them up for Tuesday.

“The win on Friday gave us a momentum boost,” Harlingen South coach Dawn Engleman said. “We’ve slowly been grinding back. We are the comeback kids. That’s who we are. We kept believing that. The last two games, more than anything, we didn’t cave in.”

The Lady Hawks needed to stay strong after three starters — guards Junior Robles and Ruayda Bouls and center Jackie Martinez — picked up four fouls in the third quarter. Robles is the Lady Hawks’ best defender, and Martinez is team’s best rebounder. That forced Engleman to use players that had never been in a game with the stakes so high.

“We all had a lot of confidence coming from the Edinburg North game,” junior Harlingen South forward Gabby Cavazos said. “We had to have each other’s back knowing that we were in foul trouble. Just to win this game and get into the playoffs was big for us.”

Cavazos, who picked up two early fouls in the first quarter, had a game-high 21 points. She also had nine rebounds. Martinez finished with 11 rebounds and five points. Robles had eight rebounds.

Eileen Martinez led Edinburg High with 16 points. Patricia Hernandez had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Micheline Mercelita had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Lady Bobcats (18-15, 7-7) had slightly more experience than Harlingen South, although they did start two freshmen. Hernandez is the team’s only senior.

“Our turnovers, our little mistakes and not going to the hole a lot,” Eileen Martinez said of the reasons why she thought her team lost. “Harlingen South made a lot of stops on us. It was mostly defensive mistakes. … Harlingen South is a good team and they are pretty new, too. Congratulations to them.”

The Lady Hawks held a 33-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Harlingen South created some cushion thanks to an 11-4 run that gave the Lady Hawks a 46-37 lead with 4:38 remaining. Harlingen South extended that to 52-41 when Cavazos scored off a rebound with about 2:45 left.

“We made some mistakes on defense and transition,” Edinburg High coach Rachel Carmona said. “We turned the ball over when we shouldn’t have turned the ball over. We were inexperienced, but that’s the way the game is. Overall, it’s a tough district. I thought the girls did a great job. I’m proud of each and every one of them.”

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