HEMOTOXIC
12-31-2010, 11:47 AM
http://www.rgvsports.com/sports/downs-8537-harlingen-koko.html
Navasota downs Harlingen in Koko's championship
Comments 2
December 29, 2010 11:48 PM
Alejandro E. Peńa
Special to RGVSports.com
MCALLEN – Harlingen’s Megan Adams thought she gave a routine two-foot pass over to teammate Demmee Rodriguez. Next thing she knows, Navasota High’s Venesha Wilcox ran the ball down the floor for a layup. That summed up the night for the Harlingen Lady Cardinals as they fell to the Navasota Lady Rattlers 63-52 in the 2010 Koko’s Holiday Classic for the second consecutive year.
In away, Wednesday’s defeat was a bit more presentable than last year.
“We played a little better and smarter considering we lost by about 28 points last year, but we made poor decisions with ball-handling from our experienced players,” Harlingen coach Nora Zamarripa said. “We just didn’t do our job tonight, but we are very capable of playing better basketball when district resumes."
With only three returning players from last year, the District 23-3A powerhouse located near College Station still used a great defensive effort as their bread and butter.
“That’s what we do. We’re very much into our defense,” Navasota coach Tommy Gates said. “Even though we missed a ton of shots on transition, our defense creates our offense which is our mentality.”
After Harlingen led 6-2 with 6:20 in the first, the Lady Rattlers began to apply pressure.
Ronesha Wells, one of Navasota’s three all-tournament players, took her own blocked shot and ran the court for an uncontested layups with 4:45 left in the first as Navasota mounted a 10-2 run.
Navasota’s man-on-man defense held the Lady Cardinals to only eight total shots and nine turnovers in the first quarter. Every time Harlingen passed the ball, it found its way into Rattler hands.
Rodriguez made a shot from the left wing to cut Navasota’s lead to two, but coach Gates’ squad closed the half on a 7-0 run for a 31-22 halftime lead.
Another key to Navasota’s success was that they made their low-percentage shots. Alexus Freeman, who led all scorers with 14 points, netted a fade away one-handed floater over two Cardinal players to open up the second half.
“We just didn’t adjust to their defensive pressure and handled their physical play very well,” Zamarripa said. “We’ll use this tournament to get better.”
Ashley Adams and Rodriguez were selected into the all-tournament team.
Navasota downs Harlingen in Koko's championship
Comments 2
December 29, 2010 11:48 PM
Alejandro E. Peńa
Special to RGVSports.com
MCALLEN – Harlingen’s Megan Adams thought she gave a routine two-foot pass over to teammate Demmee Rodriguez. Next thing she knows, Navasota High’s Venesha Wilcox ran the ball down the floor for a layup. That summed up the night for the Harlingen Lady Cardinals as they fell to the Navasota Lady Rattlers 63-52 in the 2010 Koko’s Holiday Classic for the second consecutive year.
In away, Wednesday’s defeat was a bit more presentable than last year.
“We played a little better and smarter considering we lost by about 28 points last year, but we made poor decisions with ball-handling from our experienced players,” Harlingen coach Nora Zamarripa said. “We just didn’t do our job tonight, but we are very capable of playing better basketball when district resumes."
With only three returning players from last year, the District 23-3A powerhouse located near College Station still used a great defensive effort as their bread and butter.
“That’s what we do. We’re very much into our defense,” Navasota coach Tommy Gates said. “Even though we missed a ton of shots on transition, our defense creates our offense which is our mentality.”
After Harlingen led 6-2 with 6:20 in the first, the Lady Rattlers began to apply pressure.
Ronesha Wells, one of Navasota’s three all-tournament players, took her own blocked shot and ran the court for an uncontested layups with 4:45 left in the first as Navasota mounted a 10-2 run.
Navasota’s man-on-man defense held the Lady Cardinals to only eight total shots and nine turnovers in the first quarter. Every time Harlingen passed the ball, it found its way into Rattler hands.
Rodriguez made a shot from the left wing to cut Navasota’s lead to two, but coach Gates’ squad closed the half on a 7-0 run for a 31-22 halftime lead.
Another key to Navasota’s success was that they made their low-percentage shots. Alexus Freeman, who led all scorers with 14 points, netted a fade away one-handed floater over two Cardinal players to open up the second half.
“We just didn’t adjust to their defensive pressure and handled their physical play very well,” Zamarripa said. “We’ll use this tournament to get better.”
Ashley Adams and Rodriguez were selected into the all-tournament team.