Congrats Lady Rattlers!

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FINAL (3A) #1 Navasota Rattlers 58 - (5A) Harlingen Lady Cardinals 33 Congratulations!!!!! Josten's Holiday Classic Tournament Champions

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Navasota 67, San Diego 17
Navasota 64, Edinburg Economedes 16
Navasota 66, Wharton 25

[navscanmaster]

Woohoo! They have been in that tournament for years now, and they always fall to a ranked 4A or 5A. I remember that after they lost a few years ago, the next day it was Wimberley I think that won that tournament! I love hearing about little old 3A teams putting it on the big boys and girls!:D

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http://www.rgvsports.com/articles/navasota-6011-classic-overwhelms.html

McALLEN — The Navasota Rattlers girls basketball team are a patient bunch.


After making the finals of the Josten’s Classic three times in the last seven years, they finally won it Wednesday with a thorough 58-33 victory over the Harlingen Lady Cardinals at the McAllen Rowe gym.


And like the Rattlers patience was a virtue, on the court their speed was a major advantage.


Navasota (23-1), ranked No. 1 in 3A, used a hustling half-court defense to force dozens of turnovers that led to fast breaks and a big lead by the half. Harlingen (12-8) did not have an answer for the Rattlers over-all team quickness and looked sluggish. The Lady Cardinals were feisty, even scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, but Navasota was just too strong in the title game.


Navasota coach Tommy Gates said the team has learned from its past experiences and how to leverage the tourney’s schedule.


“We love coming down here and playing this tournament,” he said. “We’ve gotten smarter. We’ve been able to spread out the players’ playing time, and I think undoubtedly that was the key to the game today. Our legs were fresh.”


Indeed they were.


Despite losing both primary post players to injury, the Rattlers jumped out to a 17-5 first-quarter lead by converting steals and turnovers into quick points. Harlingen bounced back a little in the second with a 7-0 run to get within eight at 19-11 with 4:15 left led by sophomore Demee Rodriguez’s drives to the basket. But that was it for Harlingen in the first half, as Navasota’s unrelenting pressure gave it a 26-11 lead into the locker room.


Rested, Navasota put the game out reach after the break with a 13-2 run to open the third and a 43-16 advantage after three quarters.


The rest was academic, but Harlingen coach Nora Zamarripa said there was something for her team to learn.


“Never give up. That’s a life lesson. You will always feel better if you give it your best shot,” she said. “They are very athletic. They (Lady Cardinals) were a little intimidated by their (Rattlers) size and athleticism. It took us a while before we started playing.


“Hey, second out of 22 ain’t bad,” she added.


Harlingen was led by Rodriguez and Ashley Adams, who scored 11 points each. Navasota, which starts five seniors, got 13 points from Destiny Dickson and 12 apiece from Raven Palmer and Shay Moore. To reach the final, Harlingen scored a last-second basket to beat Edinburg and Navasota hung on to beat Los Fresnos. Edinburg High beat Los Fresnos to win third place.